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A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 



OF 



THE FUTURE LIFE 



3Sg JHr, %{vti&<m. 



The Law of Psychic Phenom- 
ena. I2H10. #1.50. 

A Scientific Demonstration of 
the Future Life. i2mo. $1.50. 



A. C. McCLURG AND CO. 

Chicago. 



A 



SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 



OF 



THE FUTURE LIFE 



BY 



THOMSON JAY HUDSON 




DEC 141895 



A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 









-^MO^ 






Copyright 
By A. C. McClurg and Co. 

A.D. 1895 



HtlM 



/ 



trt-l 



3 JBrtJtcate tfjfe Folume 

TO 

NOEL LAWRENCE ANTHONY, 

TO WHOSE KINDLY COUNSEL, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND 

ASSISTANCE IN ITS PREPARATION I OWE 

MORE THAN I CAN EXPRESS, 

AND WHOSE FRIENDSHIP IS ONE OF THE GREATEST 
PLEASURES OF MY LIFE. 



y; 



PREFACE. 



NEARLY three years have now elapsed since the publica- 
tion of my first work, " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," 
in which I formulated, tentatively, a working hypothesis for 
the systematic study and correlation of all psychic phenomena. 
Before venturing to publish that work, however, I had devoted 
many years to a patient and thorough investigation of the 
subject, with the view of ascertaining whether any psychic 
phenomenon had ever been observed and recorded that was 
inexplicable under the terms of my hypothesis. Not being 
able to find a record of such a phenomenon, but finding, on 
the contrary, that every psychic fact furnished a fresh illus- 
tration of the correctness of my theory, I ventured upon its 
publication. Since then I have continued the search, aided 
by many able reviews and criticisms of my work, the result be- 
ing that I have been unable to find a fact or an argument that 
militates against the truth of the hypothesis then formulated. 

I have, therefore, felt justified in appearing before the public 
again, for the purpose of carrying to their legitimate conclu- 
sions some of the principles laid down in " The Law of Psychic 
Phenomena. " 

That work was devoted almost exclusively to the consider- 
ation of the mental characteristics and powers of man as we 
find him in this life. The present work is devoted to a scien- 
tific inquiry concerning his prospects for a future life. 

In pursuing this inquiry, I have endeavored to follow the 
strictest rules of scientific induction, taking nothing for granted 
that is not axiomatic, and holding that there is nothing worthy 
of belief that is not sustained by a solid basis of well-authenti- 
cated facts. In other words, I have studied the science of 
the soul precisely as the physical sciences are studied ; namely, 
from an attentive observation, and a systematic classification, 
of the facts pertaining to the subject-matter. The facts of the 
soul, as the terminology indicates, consist of what are known 
as "psychic phenomena." These phenomena have, from time 
immemorial, excited the wonder and fed the superstitions of 
all the races of mankind; and it is humiliating to observe 
that in no age or nation have the superstitions arising from 
such phenomena assumed a more gross and palpable form 
than in the last half of the nineteenth century, and in those 
nations possessing the highest degree of civilization and cul- 



Vlii PREFACE. 

ture. In the meantime, however, scientists have begun the 
study of the phenomena with the view of ascertaining some- 
thing of their nature and proximate cause ; and although the 
study is yet in its infancy, enough has already been learned 
not only to remove them from the realm of superstition, but 
to develop the fact that psychic phenomena furnish the only 
means by which science can solve the problems of the human 
soul. 

The object of this book is to outline a method of scientific 
inquiry concerning the powers, attributes, and destiny of the 
soul, and to specifically point out and classify a sufficient num- 
ber of the well-authenticated facts of psychic science to demon- 
strate the fact of a future life for mankind. 

The earlier chapters are devoted to a review of the principal 
arguments for immortality heretofore advanced, with the view 
of showing their invalidity from x a scientific standpoint, as well 
as demonstrating the necessity for a new departure in the 
methods of treating this the most important problem of human 
existence. The phenomena of so-called spiritism necessarily 
come under this category ; and for that reason, as well as for 
the purpose of a correct classification of psychic phenom- 
ena, I have felt compelled to devote considerable attention to 
the refutation of the arguments recently advanced in support 
of the spiritistic hypothesis. I have also been compelled, in 
the interest of correct classification, to devote some attention 
to the psychic phenomena mentioned in the Old Testament. 

If my interpretation of these two classes of phenomena runs 
counter to the opinions of others, spiritists, on the one hand, 
may derive consolation from the fact that my interpretation 
of their phenomena leads to the same general conclusion which 
they have deduced, namely, that man is heir to a future life ; 
and on the other hand, those who hold to the doctrine of 
plenary inspiration and to the literal interpretation of the 
Scriptures, will endorse my general conclusions, since they 
confirm the essential doctrines of the Christian religion, and 
invest them with a scientific value possessed by no other 
religion on earth. 

In demonstrating the fact of a future life, I have simply 
analyzed the mental organization of man, and shown that, from 
the very nature of his physical, intellectual, and psychical struc- 
ture and organism, any other conclusion than that he is des- 
tined to a future life is logically and scientifically untenable. 

T. J. H 

Washington, D. C, Sept. 5, 1895. 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Page 
Bacon's Monument to Common Sense. — The First to recognize 
the True Value of a Fact. — The Law of Correct Reasoning. 

— Its Simplicity. — The Essentials of a Correct Hypothesis. 

— Inductive Reasoning. — The Copernican System. — Defec- 
tive Methods of Reasoning employed by the Greek Philos- 
ophers. — Speculative Philosophy subject to the Law of 
Reaction. — The Inductive Sciences insure Permanent Prog- 
ress. — Natural Theology at a Standstill. — The Conflict 
between Religion and Science. — Voltaire and Paine. — Their 
Assaults upon Dogma. — Their Religion. — The Triumph of 
Science. — The Doctrine of Evolution. — A New Contro- 
versy. — Religion and Science not Antagonistic. — Immortal- 
ity a Proper Question for Scientific Investigation. — If True, 

it is Important. — If Important, it can be Demonstrated . . 17 



CHAPTER II. 

DEFECTIVENESS OF THE OLD ARGUMENTS. 

The Four Leading Arguments : 1. Analogical Reasoning inhe- 
rently Defective. — Metamorphosis. — Butler's Analogy. — 
Physical Laws not Identical with Spiritual Laws. — Illustra- 
tion is not Proof. — Averroism. — Emanation and Absorp- 
tion. 2. Prescriptive Authority. — The Hiding-Place of 
Power. — The Priesthood and Divine Revelation. — Induc- 
tive Arguments of the New Testament. 3. Philosophical 
Speculation. — Emerson's Belief. — His Despair of Proof. — 
Plato's Phaedo. — His Three Arguments for Immortality. — 
The Doctrine of Contraries. — Reminiscence. — Reincarna- 
tion. — The Capacity of Great Men for Minute Subdivision. 
— The Soul a Simple Substance. — The Phsedo a Promoter 
of Suicide. 4. Instinctive Desire. — A Valid but not Con- 
clusive Argument 3 2 



X CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER III. 

SPIRITISM AND HYPNOTISM. 

Page 

The Phenomena of Spiritism. — Scepticism of the Church. — 
The Present Attitude of Science. — Spiritistic Phenomena 
Genuine. — The Two Hypotheses. — The Spirit Medium Self- 
Hypnotized. — The Intelligence Manifested. — Experimental 
Hypnotism produces the same Phenomena. — The Power of 
Telepathy. — The Law of Suggestion. — Suggestion controls 
the Medium. — The Manufacture of Mediums by Hypnotism. 
— The Hypothesis of Duality of Mind. — The Objective and 
Subjective Minds. — The Condition of the Medium and the 
Hypnotized Subject Identical. — They are governed by the 
Same Laws. — Socrates as a Roman. — The Spirit of " Can- 
tharides " Invoked. — The Medium not necessarily Dishon- 
est. — The Laws of Telepathy 53 



CHAPTER IV. 

SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA. 

The Typical Seance. — " Test " Cases. — The Way Proselytes 
are made — The Telepathic Explanation. — What Telepathy 
is. — Views of Rev. Minot J. Savage and of Mr. F. W. H. 
Myers. — Their Test Cases Explained. — The Small Resid- 
uum of Phenomena which they cannot account for. — The 
Shipwreck. — An Alleged Spirit Communication from a Vic- 
tim. — A Telepathic Explanation. — Telepathy vs. Clair- 
voyance. — A Typical Case. — " Stretching " the Theory of 
Telepathy. — Views of Mr. Podmore 70 



CHAPTER V. 

spiritistic phenomena (continued). 

Experimental Telepathy. — Deferred Percipience. — Cases in 
Point. — Planchette. — Latency of Telepathic Impressions. — 
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream. — Daniel's Telepathic Power. — 
Final Explanation of Mr. Savage's Test Case. — The Mother's 
Message to her Son. — The Son's Message to the Psychic. — 
The Last Resource of Spiritism. — Mr. Savage's Crucial 



CONTENTS. xl 

Page 
Question. — The Unscientific Attitude of Spiritists. — Thun- 
der considered as the Voice of an Angry God. — The Sim- 
plicity of Nature's Laws. — The Alleged " Simplicity " of the 
Spiritistic Hypothesis. — It saves Thinking. — Reasoning in 
a Circle. — Why cannot Spirits communicate with the Liv- 
ing ? — Not a Pertinent Question. — The Real Question is, 
Do they so Communicate ? — The Evidence is against the 
Spiritistic Hypothesis. — " Spirits of Health and Goblins 
Damned" 90 

CHAPTER VI. 

ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA. 

The Importance of Correct Classification of Phenomena. — 
The Science of the Soul. — The Phenomena of the Soul. — 
Old Testament Records. — The Pentateuch. — The Higher 
Criticism. — The Psychic History of the Children of Israel. 
— Unreasoning Scepticism. — Aaron's Rod. — Moses as a 
Psychic. — His Methods and his Instrumentalities. — The 
God of Moses. — His Human Characteristics. — His Advice 
to "spoil the Egyptians." — Moses' Interview with God on 
Mount Sinai. — The Molten Calf. — The Anger of God. — 
His Determination to destroy the Children of Israel. — 
Moses argues the Question. — He causes God to Repent. — 
Renewal of the Covenant. — Objective Moses vs. Subjec- 
tive Moses 115 

CHAPTER VII. 

ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA {continued}. 

The Prophets of Israel. — Elisha's Methods. — He saves the 
Three Kings. — Human Characteristics of Elisha's God. — 
The Evolution of the Monotheistic Idea through Psychic 
Phenomena. — The First Conception of the Idea of a Living 
God. —The Evolution of the Spiritual Man. — The First 
Great Step through Psychic Phenomena. — The Jewish Ori- 
gin of Monotheism. — The God of Abraham. — The Dispen- 
sation of Moses. — The Second Great Step in the Evolution 
of the Spiritual Man. — The Decalogue. — The Influence of 
Egyptian Civilization. — The Wisdom of Moses. — Egyptian 
Ethics and the Jewish Religion. — The Progress of the 
Prophets reflected in their Conception of the Character of 
God. — Isaiah's God no longer the God of Israel alone . . 132 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ADVENT OF JESUS. 

Pagk 
The Third Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. — 
The God which Jesus Proclaimed. — Intellectual Prodigies. 

— The Intuitional Powers of Jesus. — His Psychical Powers. 

— His Perfect Knowledge of the Laws of the Soul. — Mod- 
ern Confirmations of the Truth of his Philosophy. — The 
Psychic Methods of Jesus. — His Reason always in the As- 
cendant. — His Perfect Moral and Religious Character. — 
Psychic Phenomena the Evidence of his Divine Mission. — 
Paley's Views. — The Divine Heritage. — The Vitality of the 
Christian Religion 144 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF TRUTH. 

Books that thrill the Reader with Pleasurable Emotions. — The- 
ories to account for it. — Literary Style. — Personal Mag- 
netism. — The Soul's Love of Truth. — Books Popular in 
proportion to their Truth. — The Scriptures. — The Philoso- 
phy of Jesus. — Intuitional Perception of its Truth. — Evo- 
lution of Religion. — Christianity the Final Goal. - — The 
Impossibility of improving upon True Christianity. — The 
Absolute Religion 160 

CHAPTER X. 

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 

Spiritistic Phenomena among the Early Christians. — Testi- 
mony of the Christian Fathers. — The Departure from Jesus' 
Example. — Paul's Explanation of Spiritistic Phenomena. — 
John's Tests. — Paul's Ecstatic. — The Oriental Ecstatics. — 
Modern Occidental Ecstatics. — Alleged Perception of Divine 
Truth in the Ecstatic Condition. — Neither Jesus, Paul, nor 
John believed in Spiritism. — Primitive Christianity pro- 
moted by Psychic Phenomena. — Constantine. — The Priest- 
hood. — Prohibition of Psychic Manifestations among the 
Laity. — The Beneficence of the Inhibition 171 



CONTENTS. xiii 

CHAPTER XL 

MODERN PSYCHIC PHENOMENA. 

Page 
Mesmerism. — Telepathy demonstrated by the Followers of 
Mesmer. — Braid's Discovery. — Hypnotism. — Discovery of 
the Law of Suggestion. — Clairvoyance. — The Rochester 
Knockings. — Mesmeric Subjects and Mediums. — Spiritism 
as a Step in the Process of Evolution. — Its Effect .... 189 



CHAPTER XII. 

HAS MAN A SOUL? 

Intuitive Perceptions of the Existence of a Soul in Man. — 
Plato's Philosophy. — The Doctrine of Body, Soul, and 
Spirit. — The Doctrine of Jesus. — Modern Scientific Scep- 
ticism. — Requirements of Modern Science. — The Dual 
Hypothesis. — The Phenomena of Dreams. — The Objective 
and Subjective Mental States differentiated. — Limitations 
of Powers of Reasoning in the Subjective Mind. — Its Per- 
fect Power of Deduction. — Telepathy and Prevision . . . 198 



CHAPTER XIII. 

has man a soul? {continued). 

The Perfect Memory of the Subjective Mind. — Memory and 
Recollection Differentiated. — Sir William Hamilton's Views. 

— Intuitional Powers of Perception of Nature's Laws. — 
The Seat of the Emotions. — The Three Normal Functions 
of the Subjective Mind. — The Infant's Development from 
Savagery to Civilization. — Total Depravity. — Dangers of 
Subjective Control. — Telepathy a purely Subjective Faculty. 

— Abnormality of Psychic Manifestations. — 111 Health a 
Condition precedent to their Production. — They grow 
Stronger as the Body grows Weaker. — Strongest in the 
Hour, of Death. — The Objective Mind perishes with the 
Brain 212 



xiv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

has man a soul? {continued}. 

Page 

Recapitulation. — A Prima Facie Case. — Concurrent and An- 
tagonistic Hypotheses. — The Law of Suggestion. — A Case 
of " Mediumistic " Development. — The Alleged Spirit Con- 
trol assumes a Dictatorship. — It develops a Passion for 
Music. — Music the Language of the Emotions. — A purely 
Subjective Faculty. — Subjective Music and Objective Music 
Differentiated. — The Dual-Mind Theory. — Absurdities In- 
volved in the Single-Mind Theory 225 



CHAPTER XV. 

DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY ANATOMY. 

The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind. — Surgeon-General 
Hammond's Researches and Experiments. — The Instinctive 
Faculties. — The Subjective Mind acts independently of the . 
Brain. — Instinctive Acts Performed after the Brain was to- 
tally eliminated. — Children Born without a Brain perform 
all the Instinctive Functions. — The Medulla Oblongata and 
the Spinal Cord the Organs of the Subjective Mind. — Idiots 
without a Brain evince Talent for Music, Mathematics, etc. . 239 



CHAPTER XVI. 

DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY EVOLUTION. 

Duality in the Lower Animals. — A Primordial Fact. — A Physi- 
cal Basis for Immortality. — The Ultimate Goal of Psychic 
Evolution. — Evidence of Design in Psychic Development. 
— Definition of " Design." — Nature conceals God. — Man 
reveals God. — The Functions of the Soul. — Design evinced 
in the Facts of Organic Evolution. — The Benevolence of 
God. — Painless Death. — The Universal Anaesthetic. — God 
is ever kind to the Victim of the Inevitable. — Man Re- 
enthroned . . , 250 



CONTENTS. XV 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE DISTINCTIVE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL. 

Page 
Every Faculty of the Mind has its Use or Function. — Faculties 
of the Soul which perform no Normal Function in this Life. 
— The Man and the Brute psychically Differentiated. — lugo- 
Altruism. — The Instinct of Self-Sacrifice. — Conditions pre- 
cedent to the Attainment of Immortality 259 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



FACULTIES BELONGING TO A FUTURE LIFE. 

The Necessity for limiting the Powers of the Subjective Mind in 
this Life. — Man a Free Moral Agent. — The Law of Sug- 
gestion a Necessity. — Limitations of Power pertain only to 
this Life. — Induction unnecessary in the Future Life. — In- 
tuition takes its Place. — Induction Impossible when the 
Power of Perception exists. — The Higher Intuitional Powers 
Useless in this Life. — The Power of Correct Deduction in 
Man and Animals 268 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE DYNAMIC FORCES OF THE MIND. 

The Buddhistic Nirvana. — A purely Intellectual Existence with- 
out Memory, Emotion, or Personality. — The Basis of their 
Philosophy. — Incomplete Observation of Psychic Powers. — 
Ignorance of the Law of Suggestion. — Requisites for the 
Retention of Personality. — Memory. — Consciousness. — 
Will.— Will is Desire. — The Strongest Desire of the Soul. 
— Egoism and Egotism of the Soul. — Egoism the Normal 
Desire for Retention of Personality. — Egotism Abnormal 
Self-Conceit. — The Dynamics of the Soul. — The Kinetic 
Force of the Soul 277 



XVI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE AFFECTIONAL EMOTIONS OF THE SOUL. 

Page 

All the Affectional Emotions Retained in the Future Life. — 
Telepathy the Means of Communion in the Future Life. — 
Telepathy neither Vestigial nor Rudimentary. — It performs 
no Normal Function in this Life 292 

CHAPTER XXI. 

PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 

The Abnormality of Psychic Manifestations. — The Dangers at- 
tending Psychic Activity. — The Different Forms of Psychic 
Development. — Psychic Powers inversely Proportioned to 
Health. — Unsuspected Dangers. — Musicians. — Stenogra- 
phers and Type-writers. — Compositors. — Genius and Insan- 
ity. — Opinions of Scientists. — Dr. MacDonald. — Summary. 
— Biographical Facts. — The Great Practical Lesson of Psy- 
chic Science. — Immorality, Vice, Crime, and Insanity the 
Result of Psychic Activity 298 

CHAPTER XXII. 

LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSIONS. 

A Perspective View of the Arguments Presented. — The Final 
Syllogism. — The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. — 
The Christian's Heaven. — The Revelations of Modern Sci- 
ence Identical with those of Jesus 317 



A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

OF THE 

FUTURE LIFE. 



CHAPTER L 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Bacon's Monument to Common Sense. — The First to recognize the 
True Value of a Fact. — The Law of Correct Reasoning. — Its 
Simplicity. — The Essentials of a Correct Hypothesis. — Induc- 
tive Reasoning. — The Copernican System. — Defective Methods 
of Reasoning employed by the Greek Philosophers. — Specula- 
tive Philosophy subject to the Law of Reaction. — The Inductive 
Sciences insure Permanent Progress. — Natural Theology at a 
Standstill. — The Conflict between Religion and Science. — Vol- 
taire and Paine. — Their Assaults upon Dogma. — Their Religion. 
— The Triumph of Science. — The Doctrine of Evolution. — A 
New Controversy. — Religion and Science not Antagonistic. — 
Immortality a Proper Question for Scientific Investigation. — If 
True, it is Important. — If Important, it can be Demonstrated. 

" A/\ ^' t ^ ie mm i ster an d interpreter of Nature, does and 
* * * understands so much as he may have discerned 
concerning the order of Nature by observing or by meditat- 
ing on facts : he knows no more, he can do no more." 1 
These words are Bacon's ; the italics are mine. 
If the great Lord Chancellor had written and expounded 
but that one sentence, he would have been entitled not 

1 Novum Organum, book i. p. I. 
2 



■ 



1 8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

only to the eternal gratitude of all mankind, but to the 
credit of having builded the grandest monument to Common 
Sense that was ever erected by human genius. This eulo- 
gium will not seem extravagant when it is remembered that 
Bacon was the first man who taught the world the true 
value of a fact \ that is to say, he was the first to discover 
and formulate the fundamental truth that all successful 
inquiry concerning the order of Nature must of necessity 
be founded upon a solid basis of well-authenticated facts. 
When we contemplate the wondrous civilization of an- 
cient Greece and Rome, their advancement in the science 
of government, the beauty and grace of their literature, the 
subtleties and refinements of their philosophy, the tran- 
scendent genius of their artists, the grandeur and nobility 
of their architecture, it seems strange, incomprehensible, 
incredible, that the discovery of this self-evident truth was 
left for a civilization built upon a soil which was not res- 
cued from barbarism when the Parthenon began to decay 
and the Coliseum to crumble. But such was the tardiness 
of human progress — the conservatism of the human mind 
— in the days before it had broken the shackles of authority, 
when opinions had the force of enactments, and dogmas 
were regulated by statute. What is now, to the unperverted 
mind of the average school-boy, a self-evident proposition, 
struck the scientific mind of the Elizabethan age with the 
force of a revelation ; and it is safe to say that the world 
owes all its subsequent progress in material science to the 
process of reasoning and of scientific investigation formu- 
lated and developed by Francis Bacon. Nay, more. The 
world not only owes all its substantial progress to that 
source, but the inductive process is the sure guaranty of 
the stability of our civilization, and of its constant advance- 
ment for all time. 

The laws of correct reasoning are as immutable as the 
law of gravity \ and, properly applied, are as certain and 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 9 

exact in their results as a law of mathematics. They are the 
natural laws of the human intellect ; they are inherent in 
its nature and constitution. But what is true of every law 
of Nature is also true of the law of reason ; namely, that 
until it is discovered and formulated by man, he is not in 
a position to avail himself of its uses, or to reap the 
benefits of its beneficence. Like every other law of Na- 
ture, when once comprehended the law of correct rea- 
soning was found to be simple to the last degree. It 
is well stated in the opening sentence of the " Novum 
Organum," and quoted at the beginning of this chapter. 
It may be restated thus : Nothing can be known with 
certainty except by an appeal to facts. This is inductive 
reasoning. 

Broadly speaking, there are but two methods of reason- 
ing ; namely, induction and deduction. The former consists 
in reasoning from particulars up to generals, and the latter 
in reasoning from generals down to particulars. Each is 
proper in its legitimate sphere ; but all conclusions depend 
for their validity upon the correct employment of each in 
its proper domain, by which one is never allowed to take 
the place or usurp the functions of the other. 

Inductive reasoning, then, consists in observing, verify- 
ing, and classifying all the facts attainable pertaining to the 
subject-matter undergoing investigation, with a view of 
arriving at the general principle or law which underlies all 
the observable phenomena. This is the first great step in 
the process, without which man can never be certain that 
he knows anything. The utmost care, therefore, is neces- 
sary in this step in order to avoid the pitfalls which beset 
the pathway of every honest investigator. The first of these 
pitfalls is inaccurate observation ; the second is insufficient 
verification ; and the third is the constant tendency of the 
human mind to generalize from an insufficient number 01 
facts. There are many other sources of error which beset 



20 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

one who would conduct a scientific investigation ; but as it 
would be foreign to the purpose of this book to discuss the 
subject in detail, I will content myself by pointing out one 
that does not seem to have attracted its due meed of 
attention. 

Referring to the general tendency of the mind to gen- 
eralize from an insufficient number of facts, — a propensity 
which also includes inaccurate observation and insufficient 
verification, — it will be observed that there is also a ten- 
dency to range facts into factions, and to determine general 
principles by suffrage. This often happens after an inves- 
tigator has committed himself to an hypothesis. He soon 
finds that his theory is contradicted by some of his facts, 
but he consoles himself with the reflection that the majority 
of his facts sustain his hypothesis, and he triumphantly 
quotes the old maxim that " Exceptions prove the rule." 
No more pernicious and fatal error can be entertained. 
There are no exceptions to the operations of a law of Na- 
ture. There exceptions do not prove the rule. This maxim 
holds good only in its application to human laws. It is appli- 
cable to them because it often happens that a rule of com- 
mon law which applies with substantial justice to a great 
majority of cases, will work irreparable wrong in an excep- 
tional case. Hence courts of equity are established " for 
the correction of that wherein the law, by reason of its 
universality, is deficient." * But Nature's laws require no 
courts of equity to provide for exceptional cases. Excep- 
tions prove the rule in human enactments in that they pro- 
voke attention to the rule and thus give it emphasis by 
antithesis. In case of an apparent exception to a supposed 
law of Nature, one of the two propositions must be true : 
i. If it is truly a law, the exception is only apparent, and 
fuller investigation will demonstrate that fact, and thus em- 
phasize the rule; 2. On the other hand, if one fact refuses 

1 Blackstone. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21 

to range itself under the terms of a supposed law, that fact 
demonstrates the invalidity of any hypothesis. 

Particular stress is laid upon this point for the reason 
that, as before remarked, it seems to have been lost sight of 
in many quarters where one would expect to find the 
strictest rules of scientific investigation rigidly enforced. 
Newton fully appreciated the weight and importance of the 
distinction, as is shown by the fact that he long delayed the 
publication of the " Principia," because of the apparent 
refusal of one phenomenon to submit to the terms of his 
hypothesis ; and not until it was demonstrated by subse- 
quent discovery that the apparent exception did not exist, 
did he venture to give to the world the theorem which 
made his name immortal. 

Having established a general principle or law by induc- 
tion, the process of deduction begins ; and if no fact re- 
mains to negative the principle, we can take our stand upon 
the constancy of Nature and the immutability of her laws, 
and confidently explain the past and predict the future. 
And this is the test of the correctness of an hypothesis, — 
that it enables one skilled in the science to which it apper- 
tains to predict correctly, to state with scientific certainty 
what will happen under a given state of circumstances. 
Thus a knowledge of the laws pertaining to the movement 
of the heavenly bodies enables the astronomer to predict 
the phases of the moon and the eclipses with mathematical 
exactitude. We may take the science of astronomy as an 
illustration of the processes of inductive reasoning and of 
all scientific investigation. By the accurate observation of 
facts for a long series of years by many and independent 
observers ; by comparison of the results of their observa- 
tions, and by a system of checking, tabulating, verification, 
and revision constantly employed, aided by the genius of 
such men as Kepler and Newton, the Copernican system 
of astronomy was finally wrought out, and the laws govern- 



22 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

ing planetary motion were formulated. This was induction, 
— reasoning from particular facts up to general principles or 
axioms. By deduction, the astronomer, taking as his premises 
these general principles thus established (the constancy of 
Nature being always assumed), is enabled to explain all the 
salient features of planetary motion, and to predict with un- 
erring accuracy the phenomena of the future. On the other 
hand, the Ptolemaic system, which preceded the Coperni- 
can, may serve as an illustration of the defective methods 
of the ancients, arising from inaccurate observation, insuffi- 
cient verification, and premature generalization. 

It must not be understood that, because Bacon was the 
first to discover and formulate the law of inductive reason- 
ing, he was the first to reason inductively. Men had always 
reasoned by that method, more or less. Nor must it be 
inferred that, because he was the first to discover and make 
known the true value of a fact as an element of logic, he 
was the first to employ facts as a basis of reasoning. The 
first man who ever observed the sun rising at one point of 
the compass and setting at the opposite, observed three 
hundred and sixty-five facts every year, from which he 
reasoned inductively up to the general principle, that the 
sun rises in the east and sets in the west; and he was 
enabled to predict, from day to day, that the sun would 
continue so to rise and set. It so happened that the man 
was approximately right, having observed a sufficient num- 
ber of facts to justify his belief. But the same man, doubt- 
less, was equally certain that the earth was flat, and that his 
horizon marked the boundaries of the habitable world. In 
this he was wrong, and his error arose from defective ob- 
servation of an insufficient number of facts. Nor in 
this was he alone. His defective methods of reasoning, 
differing only in degree and not in kind, were shared by 
all his contemporaries, and by all his successors, great 
and small, down to the days of Plato and Aristotle, and 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 23 

from Plato and Aristotle down to the days of Queen 
Elizabeth. 

Until that time all men reasoned by defective methods ; 
for the fundamental law of reasoning had not been dis- 
covered. Hence the wisdom of a Socrates or a Plato 
afforded no protection against the fatal error of deducting 
the most momentous conclusions from assumed premises ; 
nor could the logic of Aristotle, which, as Bacon declares, 
" corrupted natural philosophy," prevent him from " con- 
structing the universe out of his Categories." 1 The wisdom 
of the Greeks, according to Bacon, was disputatious ; their 
science was spectacular ; their history was composed largely 
of tales and rumors of antiquity, and they were always 
more intent on founding sects and systems of philosophy, 
and fighting for supremacy in wrangling, than zealous in 
their search for truth. Their teachings, therefore, often 
seemed to justify the charge of Dionysius against those of 
Plato, — that they were " the words of idle old men to 
inexperienced youth ; " and of the Egyptian priest who 
said of the Greeks that " they were ever children, and had 
neither antiquity of knowledge nor knowledge of antiquity ; " 
and of Bacon, who, quoting the above, added, " And surely 
in this they are like children, — they are ready to chatter, 
but cannot beget." 

Nevertheless, no one can fail to appreciate the subtlety 
of their philosophy, the vigor of their intellects, or the 
virility of their manhood, whatever may be said of the 
soundness of their methods of searching for truth. In spite 
of defective processes of reasoning they have bequeathed to 
posterity an immortal literature, a deathless fame, and a 
philosophy which, in many instances, demonstrates an 
intuitive perception of truths which modern science can 
only illustrate and confirm. But of true science they had 
nothing worthy of the name. Like their philosophy, it was 

1 Novum Organum. 



24 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

speculative, and hence was unable to withstand those ever- 
present reactionary forces which impel the human mind to 
rebel against any system of science, philosophy, or belief 
not based upon observable phenomena or demonstrable 
propositions. 

Hence it was that all the learning and the philosophy, all 
the arts and the civilization of ancient Greece and Rome 
could not avert their decadence, nor rescue the intellectual 
world from the dismal horrors of the long night of mediaeval 
barbarism. It is a common remark that the physical 
effeminacy of the people of ancient Rome, resulting from 
the luxurious habits engendered by the refinements of their 
civilization, rendered them an easy prey to the hordes of 
vigorous barbarians of Northern Europe, and was thus the 
primary cause of their downfall. Other instances exist where 
ancient civilizations have risen and flourished and fallen. 
Every year fresh discoveries are made of the remains of 
prehistoric civilizations which must have been in decay, if 
not extinct, long before tradition began. And in every 
case, historic or prehistoric, there exist evidences that their 
extinction was the result of practically the same causes as 
those which led to the downfall of the Roman Empire. 
From these facts it has been argued that there must exist a 
natural law pertaining to civilization analogous to the law of 
organic nature ; namely, that growth results in maturity, 
maturity in degeneracy, and degeneracy in disintegration, — 
in other words, that the law of human development is not 
the law of constant progress, but that civilization moves in 
successive cycles. Such reasoners look with gloomy fore- 
boding upon the present state of progress in science and 
the arts as a sure precursor of the imminent decadence of 
those nations who have attained the higher civilization, 
and of their ultimate relapse into barbarism. 

I cannot so interpret the history of mankind. Our present 
civilization is built upon a radically different foundation 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2$ 

from that of any of the nations whose history may be cited 
as a precedent. The difference may be illustrated by a 
single reference. Taking Greece as an example presenting 
the most striking contrast between the highest degree of 
her enlightenment and the lowest degree of her degeneracy, 
the most obvious fact pertaining to the character of her 
civilization is this : that in not one of the arts or sciences 
in which she excelled the most barbarous nations which 
surrounded her was there a single element of power that 
could give promise of national perpetuity, or even of 
substantial national progress. The Greeks excelled in 
philosophy, but it was almost purely speculative, and was 
therefore subject to the law of reaction. Their science was 
as speculative as their philosophy, and subject to the same 
law. They excelled in mathematics, but in the absence of 
other sciences, of which mathematics is but the handmaiden, 
it was not an element of power. They excelled in art and 
in literature, but in neither was there an element of national 
strength ; for though the art of Phidias has never been 
surpassed, and Homer's rank after the lapse of ages is 
unchallenged, the sculptor's chisel and the poet's tablet 
were poor weapons of defence against the superior physical 
force of their enemies. 

On the other hand, the civilization of the present day is 
founded upon the inductive sciences. In the inductive 
sciences the law is that of eternal progress. In them there 
is no possible element of reaction. A proposition or 
principle of natural philosophy, once established, is as 
firmly fixed as a proposition in mathematics, and is never 
afterwards disputed. Every step, therefore, is a step in 
advance. Every new demonstration of a law of Nature ■ 
furnishes the basis for a fresh start in a thousand different 
directions. There is, therefore, no possibility that, either 
in the purely demonstrative or in the purely experimental 
sciences, the world can ever again go backward, and there 
is as little probability that it will ever stand still. 



26 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

The inductive sciences, have within themselves the 
inherent principles of perpetuity and of progress. Not 
only that, but they are constantly providing external de- 
fences against assaults by physical force. No hordes of 
barbarians can now swoop down upon a superior civilization, 
and conquer its people by means of mere muscular superi- 
ority ; for the inductive sciences have provided appliances 
which confer upon intelligence and skill a vast superiority 
over combined muscular and numerical strength, though 
the latter may be inspired by the most desperate physical 
courage. Science, and not muscle, is now the prime factor 
in the struggle of nations for supremacy; for the victories 
of war, as of peace, are organized in the laboratories of the 
inductive sciences. 

The obvious inference is that, other things being equal, 
so long as the World is under the dominion of the inductive 
sciences, no civilized people can ever again be conquered 
except by the agents of a higher civilization. 

It is unnecessary to dwell further upon the obvious im- 
portance of the discovery which Bacon made ; and my only 
excuse for reciting the a b c of the processes of induction 
is that it is always proper, and frequently important, in the 
discussion of any question, to recur to fundamental prin- 
ciples. Besides, whilst there is no law of nature more simple, 
or more easily comprehended, than the fundamental law of 
human reason, yet there is none that is more habitually and 
persistently disregarded and set at defiance. It is safe to 
say that nine-tenths of all that mankind believes, or thinks 
it believes, is destitute of any solid basis of fact. It is, 
perhaps, not so much the fault as the misfortune of human- 
ity that this is true. We must not forget that, much as 
mankind has achieved in the way of wresting from Nature 
the secret of her laws, the intellectual world is yet in its 
infancy. It is less than three centuries since man began 
to comprehend the first principles pertaining to the power 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2*] 

which enables him to make an intelligent search for truth. 
Gigantic strides have been made within that time, it is true ; 
but they have been in one direction only. The material 
universe has been explored, the dynamic forces of Nature 
have been enslaved, and the physical condition of man 
has been ameliorated. 

But many problems still remain unsolved which are of far 
greater importance to mankind than any that have yet 
yielded to the processes of induction \ and they are prob- 
lems upon which none of the physical sciences throw the 
faintest glimmer of light. 

Natural theology stands precisely where it did when 
Thales philosophized and Simonides sang ; and the argu- 
ments are identical with those which Socrates employed in 
his confutation of the atheism of Aristodemus. Not one of 
the physical sciences in which we excel the Idumeans has 
advanced us one step in the solution of the great problem 
propounded by Job, — " If a man die, shall he live again? " 

Indeed, the discoveries of modern science seem to have 
weakened, rather than strengthened, the old arguments em- 
ployed to prove the existence of Deity or the doctrine of 
immortality. Modern physical science has at least weak- 
ened the hold which those beliefs had upon humanity \ for 
the scientific mind is prone to hold that what is not proved 
by induction is, to a certain extent, disproved. And no 
scientist has ever attempted to demonstrate either of those 
propositions by induction. Bacon himself does not seem 
to have regarded theology, natural or revealed, as being 
susceptible of being brought within the domain of science. 
On the contrary, he appears to have regarded the essential 
doctrines of religion as sufficiently well established by rev- 
elation. He warns his readers, however, against " an un- 
wholesome mixture of things human and divine/' and 
advises them to " render to faith the things that are 
faith's." 



28 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

It does not seem probable that Bacon, whose mind was 
cast in a severely logical mould, could have overlooked the 
wide discrepancy between the methods of reasoning which 
he taught, and those which were at that time necessarily 
employed in sustaining the fundamental doctrines of religion. 
Nor does it seem possible that he was insensible to the diffi- 
culties which must environ the Church when it should be 
called upon to defend its faith against the assaults of scep- 
ticism, armed with the weapons which he created. Be 
that as it may, it was not until many years after Bacon 
wrote that the secondary effects of his philosophy became 
manifest. As soon, however, as the students of material 
science became imbued with his wisdom, and began to 
apply the severe rules of his logic to the investigation of the 
problems of the physical universe, they began to inquire 
why the same rules were not applicable to things spiritual ; 
and as soon as it was prudent to do so, they began to demand 
that the theologian should give as good reasons for the faith 
that was in him as were required of the scientist for the 
elucidation of the simplest propositions in natural philos- 
ophy. It is needless to remark that this demand has not 
yet been met with an adequate reply, although the Church 
has been engaged, with a zeal entirely disproportioned to 
its success, in defending its strongholds. 

It was not, however, until after the beginning of the pres- 
ent century that the real battle between science and religion 
took a definite form, or that science assumed a seriously 
threatening aspect towards the fundamental doctrines of 
religion. It was not until within the memory of men now 
living that scientists, worthy of the name, became the aggres- 
sive opponents of the doctrine of a future life, or attempted 
to disprove the existence of Deity. The great conflict be- 
tween religion and science, previous to that time, which 
may be said to have been begun in the destruction of the 
Alexandrian Library and ended with the Inquisition, was 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 29 

waged on entirely different grounds. Thus, when Hypatia 
was stripped naked in the streets of Alexandria by Cyril's 
mob of monks, dragged into a church, and there killed by 
the club of Peter the Reader, it was for the offence of teach- 
ing mathematics and the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. 
The subsequent conflicts were principally respecting such 
questions as the nature of the Godhead, the nature of the 
soul, the nature of the world, the age of the earth, the cri- 
terion of truth, and the government of the universe. For 
many hundreds of years these questions were discussed, the 
principal arguments employed against science being feebly 
typified by those of Cyril against Hypatia. Even as late as 
the eighteenth century the religious polemics of the day 
were not directed against the fundamental truths of natural 
religion, but against the system of theology which is based 
upon the interpretation which the priesthood has given to 
revelation. The works of Voltaire and of Paine may be 
cited as the best known examples. Each of these writers 
has been stigmatized as an atheist : but Voltaire believed in 
God, and steadily upheld the truths of natural religion ; 
whilst Paine, were he living to-day, would find congenial 
employment in the Unitarian pulpit. The effect of their 
polemics was great in their day and generation, but it was 
not lasting. They shook the foundations of creed and 
dogma, but not of religion. They were not atheists them- 
selves, yet it cannot be denied that their writings have been 
instrumental in converting many to atheism who have not 
been able to distinguish between dogma and religion. This 
effect, however, in the very nature of things, could not be 
permanent ; for no argument not based upon scientific in- 
duction can long prevail against the instinct of worship which 
is inherent in the human mind, or that hope of a life beyond 
the grave which springs eternal in the human breast. 

The science of the nineteenth century, however, has 
developed an entirely new aspect of the question. The 



30 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

conflict between religion and science still goes on ; but the 
questions are different and the weapons are not the same. 
It is no longer a question of geography, or of astronomy, 
or of the shape of the earth, or of its relative magnitude 
and importance as compared with the other planets in the 
solar system. All these questions have been settled, and it 
will not be denied that in each of these conflicts the palm 
of victory has been awarded to science. 

The doctrine of evolution has now given rise to another 
controversy (it can no longer be called a conflict) between 
science and religion, or, rather, between scientists and a 
portion of the Christian Church. On its face it is a con- 
troversy relating to the creation and government of the 
world, — whether it was by a special creative act of 
God, followed by incessant divine intercession, or by the 
operation of primordial and immutable law. The Church, 
however, is by no means united in its opposition to the 
doctrine of evolution. On the contrary, many of its most 
progressive and enlightened adherents accept the doctrine 
without qualification, whilst others attempt to harmonize it 
with the Mosaic account of creation. There can be little 
doubt of the ultimate triumph of science in this, as in other 
controversies ; and there can be as little doubt that, when 
the day of its triumph comes, it will be found that true 
religion has lost nothing. Religion has never lost anything 
as a result of the triumphs of science, but only as a result 
of misdirected zeal in opposing science. Religion, there- 
fore, has nothing to fear from the doctrine of evolution, 
or from any other science, if religion is truth ; for no truth - 
is inconsistent with any other truth. 

The real danger consists, not in the conflict of religion 
with science, but in the failure of the Church to meet the 
demands of science. The latter reaches its conclusions 
from the observation of facts, and holds that nothing is 
worthy of belief that is not sustained by observable phe- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 3 1 

nomena \ and it demands of the Church the same quality 
and character of evidence of what that institution claims 
to be truth as is demanded of science in support of its 
propositions. The failure to meet this demand is filling 
the civilized world with materialism ; for scientists are prone 
to hold that whatever is not susceptible of scientific proof 
by the processes of induction is, ipso facto, disproved. On 
the other hand, this proposition is offset by many of the 
clergy by the declaration that questions relating to immor- 
tality and the existence of a God are not proper subjects 
of scientific investigation ; that spiritual truths must be dis- 
cerned by spiritual perception, — must be seen by the eye 
of faith alone, — and are necessarily undemonstrable by 
scientific induction. Herein lies the fundamental error, — 
an error which is fast driving the scientific world into the 
ranks of materialism ; for science holds that truth is only 
sacred in the sense that error should never be allowed to 
usurp its place, and that anything which man desires to 
know is a legitimate subject of scientific investigation.^ In 
this declaration science is undoubtedly right ; and it might 
well go a step farther, and declare that anything which it is 
important for man to know can sooner or later be scientifi- 
cally demonstrated by the processes of inductive reasoning. 
In making this declaration I make no distinction between 
physical and spiritual laws. A psychic fact is just as much 
a fact as a granite mountain. If there is a God, it is im- 
portant for man to know it ; and there are facts which will 
prove it. If there is a life beyond the grave, it is important 
for man to know it ; and there are facts which will demon- 
strate it beyond a peradventure. It is to the task of 
presenting a few of these facts that I address myself in 
succeeding chapters. 



CHAPTER II. 

DEFECTIVENESS OF THE OLD ARGUMENTS. 

The Four Leading Arguments : I. Analogical Reasoning inherently 
Defective. — Metamorphosis. — Butler's Analogy. — Physical 
Laws not Identical with Spiritual Laws . — Illustration is not 
Proof. — Averroism. — Emanation and Absorption. 2. Prescrip- 
tive Authority. — The Hiding- Place of Power. — The Priesthood 
and Divine Revelation. — Inductive Arguments of the New Testa- 
ment. 3. Philosophical Speculation. — Emerson's Belief. — His 
Despair of Proof. — Plato's Phaedo. — His Three Arguments for 
Immortality. — The Doctrine of Contraries. — Reminiscence. — 
Reincarnation. — The Capacity of Great Men for Minute Sub- 
division. — The Soul a Simple Substance. — The Phaedo a Pro- 
moter of Suicide. 4. Instinctive Desire. — A Valid but not 
Conclusive Argument. 

OEFORE proceeding with the line of argument which it 
U is proposed to adopt in the discussion of the subjects 
under consideration, I deem it proper to say a few words 
regarding the methods of reasoning which have heretofore 
prevailed, with the view of pointing out a few of the salient 
defects in the arguments commonly employed, as viewed 
from a purely scientific and logical standpoint. This will 
not be done in any spirit of censure or fault-finding ; for I 
cannot be unaware of the difficulties which have heretofore 
environed the whole subject-matter, and of the practical 
impossibility of formulating a conclusive argument in the 
absence of those facts which have come to light only w T ithin 
the last quarter of a century. No one can justly be blamed 
for failure to reason inductively in the absence of facts per- 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 33 

taining to the subject-matter of his speculation ; and no 
man can be justly censured, except from an ultra-scientific 
standard of reasoning, for accepting, without too critical an 
examination, such arguments as were available in support 
of a doctrine which has given to mankind so much of com- 
fort and consolation as the belief in a future life has afforded 
to a great majority of the human race. For, much as we 
may deprecate many of the dogmas of the Church, much 
as we may deride the crude speculations of men regarding 
the future destiny of the soul and its rewards and punish- 
ments, the fact remains that they have all served their pur- 
pose in their day and generation ; and it is difficult now to 
see how the world could have gotten along without them. 
Their terrors have been a potent means of restraint from 
wrong-doing among men whom nothing else could restrain ; 
and their promises have filled the human heart with conso- 
lation in this life, and placed the iris above the door of the 
sepulchre. Each dogma, each system of religious belief, 
has been a step in the evolution of the human mind towards 
a knowledge of the attributes, the powers, and the destiny 
of man. 

In looking backward, therefore, over the tortuous and 
difficult pathway which the human mind has been com- 
pelled to tread in its search for evidences of the reality of 
that most important of all the objects of human aspiration, 
immortal life, it would ill become us to despise, or affect to 
despise, any one of the gradients by which mankind has 
been gradually lifted into a purer intellectual atmosphere, 
and enabled to enjoy a clearer perception of truth. In 
this spirit it is proposed briefly to examine the arguments 
which have heretofore been advanced in support of the 
doctrine of a future life, and to test their validity by the 
simple but infallible rules of logic which every intelligent 
reader understands and appreciates. If the old arguments 
are found invalid or inconclusive from a scientific stand- 



34 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

point, it will then be in order to inquire what science has 
to offer in their place. 

In order that I may not be accused of misstating the 
fundamental grounds upon which mankind has built its 
hopes of a life beyond the grave, I quote the following pas- 
sage from Alger's admirable work, in which is summarized 
the "suggesting grounds on which the popular belief rests " : 

" When, after sufficient investigation, we ask ourselves from 
what causes the almost universal expectation of another life 
springs, and by what influences it is nourished, we shall not find 
adequate answer in less than four words : feeling, imagination, 
faith, and reflection. The doctrine of a future life for man 
has been created by the combined force of instinctive desire, 
analogical observation, prescriptive authority, and philosophical 
speculation. These are the four pillars on which the soul builds 
the temple of its hopes ; or the four glasses through which it 
looks to see its eternal heritage." 1 

These being the " four pillars " on which the temple is 
built, it is obvious that if either one of them is found to 
rest upon an insecure foundation, the whole structure must 
be in danger ; and if all are found to have been built upon 
logical quicksands, the superstructure must inevitably fall. 
Dropping the architectural simile, it must be said of the 
four grounds of belief that some of them embrace valid 
arguments, but none of them are conclusive. The first in 
the order named — " instinctive desire" — also stands at 
the head in point of validity. Its discussion, however, will 
be reserved for the last of the series, for reasons which will 
be obvious when it is reached. 

The question of "analogical observation " will first receive 
our attention, although a large part of that which comes 
naturally under the head of " philosophical speculation " 
must also be included under this head. I cannot sum up 
the leading analogical arguments in favor of an immortal 

1 Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life, p. 38. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 35 

life in better language than by quoting again from the 
same author : x — 

" Man, holding his conscious being precious beyond all things, 
and shrinking with pervasive anxieties from the moment of des- 
tined dissolution, looks around through the realms of nature, with 
thoughtful eye, in search of parallel phenomena further devel- 
oped, significant sequels in other creatures' fates, whose evolu- 
tion and fulfilment may haply throw light on his own. With 
eager vision and heart-prompted imagination he scrutinizes 
whatever appears related to his object. Seeing the snake cast 
its old slough and glide forth renewed, he conceives so in death 
man but sheds his fleshy exuviae, while the spirit emerges, 
regenerate. He beholds the beetle break from its filthy sepul- 
chre, and commence its summer work ; and straightway he 
hangs a golden scarabaeus in his temples as an emblem of a 
future life. After vegetation's wintry deaths, hailing the return- 
ing spring that brings resurrection and life to the graves of the 
sod, he dreams of some far-off spring of humanity, yet to come, 
when the frosts of man's untoward doom shall relent, and all the 
costly seeds sown through ages in the great earth-tomb shall 
shoot up in celestial shapes. On the moaning seashore, weeping 
some dear friend, he perceives, now ascending in the dawn, the 
planet which he lately saw declining in the dusk ; and he is 
cheered by the thought that 

' As sinks the day-star in the ocean-bed, 
And yet anon repairs his drooping head, 
And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore 
Flames in the forehead of the morning sky, 
So Lycidas, sunk low, shall mount on high/ 

"Some traveller or poet tells him fabulous tales of a bird 
which, grown aged, fills his nest with spices, and, spontaneously 
burning, soars from the aromatic fire, rejuvenescent for a thou- 
sand years ; and he cannot but take the phcenix for a miraculous 
type of his own soul springing, free and eternal, from the ashes 
of his corpse. Having watched the silkworm, as it wove its 
cocoon and lay down in its oblong grave apparently dead, until 
at length it struggles forth, glittering with rainbow colors, a 
winged moth, endowed with new faculties and living a new life 

1 Op. cit., pp. 38, 39. 



36 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

in a new sphere, he conceives that so the human soul may, in 
the fulness of time, disentangle itself from the imprisoning 
meshes of this world of larvae, a thing of spirit beauty, to sail 
through heavenly airs ; and henceforth he engraves a butterfly 
on the tombstone in vivid prophecy of immortality. Thus a 
moralizing observation of natural similitudes teaches man to 
hope for an existence beyond death." 

From time immemorial the metamorphosis of the cater- 
pillar into the butterfly has been used as a standard illustra- 
tion of the thought that the soul will survive the decay and 
dissolution of its earthly investiture. Thus, the late Bishop 
Butler, whose work is still a standard reference book in 
many of our leading universities, begins his argument by 
reference to the metamorphosis of " worms into flies," the 
hatching of birds from the egg, and even the birth of men 
from the womb, as so many evidences of a future life ; 
because, he says, "that we are to exist hereafter" ... is 
" according to a natural order or appointment of the very 
same kind with that we have already experienced." 1 

Without stopping to show the invalidity of this specific 
argument (for it has often been refuted), I will proceed with 
what I have to say regarding the general defects in the sys- 
tem of analogical argumentation when reasoning from purely 
physical phenomena up to conclusions relating to spiritual 
laws. 

I approach the subject with much diffidence for the 
reason that this form of reasoning has been resorted to by 
so many able men that it seems almost iconoclastic to say 
that it is one of the most unsatisfactory, not to say danger- 
ous, forms of reasoning that can be imagined. Indeed, 
it is absolutely devoid of the first essential element of 
correct logical induction. 

Analogical reasoning belongs to the realm of poetry and 
rhetoric, — not to that of logic, nor to that of science, 

1 Butler's Analogy, part i. ch. I. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 37 

except within certain clearly defined limitations. " Poetic 
license" confers the right to employ almost any figure of 
speech or comparison, however fanciful ; and the same may 
be said of the productions of the rhetorician. But when 
we are dealing with scientific questions on a purely logical 
basis, the field in which analogical reasoning may be prop- 
erly employed has very decided limitations. It may be 
proper to employ it when dealing with matters which are 
known to be governed by the same, or substantially the 
same, laws ; but never when instituting comparisons, either 
between subjects which are known not to be governed by the 
same laws, or between subjects which are not known to be 
governed by the same laws. It seems like arguing a self- 
evident proposition, to enlarge upon the foregoing ; but the 
necessity for making my meaning clear is evident when we 
consider the fact that the world has, through countless ages, 
pinned its faith in a future spiritual life largely upon analogies 
drawn from the physical universe. 

In all inductive reasoning there is one proposition that 
is, or may be, always assumed ; namely, the constancy of 
Nature. Thus, by the observation of a series of phenom- 
ena, say the rising and setting of the sun, we are enabled 
to predict with absolute confidence that it will, on any 
given day in the future, rise in the east and set in the west. 
Why? Because we have such confidence in the immuta- 
bility of the laws of Nature that we assume that the order 
of the rising and setting of the sun will never be reversed. 
It is upon this assumption of the constancy of Nature, or 
rather upon the absolute verity of this assumption, that all 
advancement in the arts and sciences depends ; for if it 
were not true, we could derive no certain information from 
our experience or from our observation of the phenomena 
of Nature. If gravity operated one day and on the next 
refrained from operating, the whole human race would be 
instantly put to confusion and lose faith in the integrity of 



38 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

the Creator. Inductive reasoning, therefore, could have 
no possible value as a means of interpreting the laws of 
Nature but for the fact that we know that Nature is ever 
constant. 

Reasoning by analogy is one form or modification of 
induction. It, too, depends for its validity upon the truth 
of a proposition which is generally assumed to be true. 
Unlike induction proper, it reasons from the phenomena of 
one subject up to the general principles pertaining to 
another subject. It may, or it may not, be a valid form 
of reasoning : for its validity depends upon the truth of the 
assumed proposition that the laws governing the subject- 
matter observed are identical with those of the subject-?natter 
under investigation. It is obvious that this proposition 
must be tacitly assumed, for otherwise there could be no 
possible excuse for employing that form of reasoning. It is 
also obvious that if the proposition is true in any given case, 
the argument is valid ; and it is self-evident that if it is not 
known to be true, the argument is, ex necessitate, logically 
invalid; a fortiori, if the proposition is known to be 
untrue. 

Thus, it would be perfectly legitimate for the scientific 
observer familiar with the natural history of the silkworm 
to infer the probable metamorphosis of any other larva into 
a winged insect ; because the laws pertaining to the one 
may legitimately be assumed to be substantially identical 
with those pertaining to the other. But the case presents 
a far different aspect when he assumes to reason from the 
metamorphosis of the caterpillar into the butterfly up to an 
immortal life for man, for the obvious reasons, first, that 
the one is an insect and the other is a mammal, so that 
even the physical laws governing the one are not identical 
with those pertaining to the other ; and, second, that the 
one retains a physical organization through every change in 
the metamorphosis, whereas the other is wholly deprived 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 39 

of any bodily organization, so far as our powers of observa- 
tion inform us, the moment the first change takes place. 

Lord Bacon seems to have been fully alive to the intrinsic 
invalidity of conclusions relating to spiritual life which are 
drawn from physical phenomena, when he said, — 

" Our inquiries about the nature of the soul must be bound 
over at last to religion, for otherwise they still lie open to many 
errors ; for, since the substance of the soul was not deduced 
from the mass of heaven and earth, but immediately from God, 
how can the knowledge of the reasonable soul be derived from 
philosophy ? " 

The italics are mine. It is quite certain that if he had 
lived in a later era he would not have hesitated to set forth, 
with his accustomed clearness, his utter condemnation of 
analogical reasoning when employed to demonstrate proposi- 
tions relating to spiritual law by reference to physical facts. 
He would certainly have taught mankind the much needed 
lesson that there is a vast difference between illustration 
and proof, between poetic license and scientific demon- 
stration. 

It seems evident, therefore, that this old and standard 
argument for a future life must at least fail to be convincing 
for the very simple and purely logical reason that one of 
the premises necessary to its completeness is known to be 
untrue. It does not possess even the negative merit to 
which the most of Bishop Butler's analogies are limited ; 
namely, that " there is no presumption, from analogy, 
against the truth " of the proposition advanced. More- 
over, " the presumption, from analogy," is decidedly against 
the continued existence of man after the death of the 
body, for the obvious reason that the insect dies after 
the metamorphosis has been completed. Indeed, most of 
the analogies drawn from our daily observation of the laws 
of the physical universe lead inevitably to the conclusion 
that " if a man dies," he does not " live again." For it is 



40 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

a fact within the experience of the most superficial observer 
that Nature constantly follows the one routine, — birth, 
growth, maturity, decay, death. Nor does it relieve us of 
the difficulty to say, as has often been said, that the seed 
which falls from the tree to the ground contains the same 
life principle which it derived from the parent stem ; that 
the seed, as a result of its own decay and physical disin- 
tegration, springs into renewed life, and another tree is 
produced, still retaining the same life- principle. Such an 
analogy can at best be employed to prove only the self- 
evident truth that a man, in a certain sense, lives in his 
own posterity. Moreover, the argument is equally as good 
for pre-existence as it is for future existence. It does not 
touch the question of the continuance of the individual life 
after the death of the body \ or, if it does, it legitimately 
leads to the old pagan doctrine of emanation and absorp- 
tion, which in one form is embodied in the vast system of 
Buddhism, and in another in that of Averroism. This sys- 
tem supposes that, at the death of an individual, his soul 
returns to or is absorbed into the universal mind from 
whom it had originally emanated. Averroes taught the 
Saracens that the transition of the individual to the uni- 
versal is instantaneous at death; but the Buddhists main- 
tain that human personality continues in a declining manner 
for a certain term before nonentity, or Nirvana, is attained. 

" Philosophy among the Arabs, and indeed throughout the 
East, saw an analogy between the gathering of the material of 
which the body of man consists from the vast store of matter in 
Nature, and its final restoration to that store, and the emana- 
tion of the spirit of man from the universal Intellect, the 
Divinity, and its final reabsorption. 1 

This is, perhaps, the most plausible analogical reasoning 
on that subject that has ever been promulgated ; but as it 

1 Draper, "Conflict between Religion and Science," 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 4 1 

assumes the very thing logically necessary to be proved, 
namely, that man has a soul, and that the soul has a future 
existence, it must be held not to answer the requirements 
of logic or of modern science. The doctrine however, with 
various modifications, is still an essential part of the philo- 
sophy of a great proportion of the human race ; and Europe 
itself was only saved to Christianity by the timely establish- 
ment of the Inquisition, which carefully eliminated the 
advocates of the doctrine of emanation and absorption. 

In closing my remarks on this branch of the subject, it 
cannot be too strongly insisted upon that no analogy sought 
to be instituted between the operations of physical nature 
and those of the spiritual realm can possess any possible 
logical validity unless it is first clearly shown that the laws 
of the two worlds are identical. And as it is manifestly 
impossible to know the laws which prevail in the unseen 
universe, it follows that reasoning from such analogies is 
not only unsatisfactory to the last degree, but, measured 
by logical and scientific standards, it is, to employ no 
harsher expression, positively nugatory. It is like trying 
to demonstrate a proposition in mathematics by citing a 
rule in grammar. Nor does it avoid the objection to 
express the analogy in the negative form, which was such 
a favorite of the late Bishop Butler ; for it is the logical 
equivalent of saying, "There is no presumption, from 
analogy, to be found in the rules of grammar against the 
possibility of squaring the circle. Therefore the circle 
can be squared." 

The second in the order of treatment, of the common 
grounds of the belief in a future life, is prescriptive authority. 
Little need be said on that subject, for the reason that no 
one, in this enlightened age, claims that the dictum of any 
man has any legitimate weight as an argument in the 
absence of facts upon which to base his claims. (i Such a 
doctrine," says Alger, " is the very hiding-place of the power 



42 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

of priestcraft, a vast engine of interest and sway which the 
shrewd insight of priesthoods has often devised, and the cun- 
ning policy of states subsidized. In most cases of this kind 
the asserted doctrine is placed on the basis of a divine revela- 
tion, and must be implicitly received. God proclaims it 
through his anointed ministers : therefore, to doubt it or 
logically criticise it is a crime. History bears witness to 
such a procedure wherever an organized priesthood has 
flourished, from primeval pagan India to modern papal 
Rome." Xo one, of course, holds that the prescriptive 
authority claimed by the priesthood possessed any scientific 
value, per se, as an argument in favor of a future life : and 
it is mentioned here only because it is elsewhere set down 
as one of the grounds of belief in immortality. The basis 
of the authority of the priesthood is that of divine revelation, 
which is set down in books which all may read, and each for 
himself estimate its value as a basis of belief. In the mean 
time there are few who claim that the Bible records possess 
any scientific value as arguments in favor of anything therein 
set forth. There are more who hold modem science in con- 
tempt when it sets itself up as a critic of divine revelation : 
and some go so far as to affect to disdain the principles of 
induction when they are sought to be applied to the eluci- 
dation of the problems of spiritual life. Such men forget 
that the sole value which any one claims for the records 
of the New Testament consists in the fact that it is an 
attempt to prove the doctrine of a future life by the forms 
of inductive reasoning. What is the New Testament but 
a record of facts from which the Christian Church pro- 
ceeds to argue that immortal life for mankind is logically 
demonstrated? Take, for instance, the record of the life, 
death, and resurrection of Christ. Here is a fact, or a 
series of facts, from which the principle of immortality is 
deduced. Thus Paul pinned his whole faith in immortality 
on the fact that Christ was raised from the dead ; and he 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 43 

used the purest forms of induction to express the grounds 
of his belief. 

; - Now, if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, 
how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the 
dead ? 

" But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ 
not risen; 

•■ And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and 
your faith is also vain." 1 

Now, whilst this one fact w T as a reason all-sufficient to 
induce Paul to believe in the doctrine of a future life, it 
does not fulfil the requirements of modern science ; not 
because of any defect in the form of reasoning, but because 
it is held, first, that the fact is not sufficiently authenticated ; 
and, second, that, even if it were perfectly verified, there are 
other alleged facts which render the conclusion invalid. 
Thus, it is held that the "twelve men of probity" who are 
summoned as witnesses of the fact, did not observe the 
phenomenon under the test conditions required by modern 
science for the verification of phenomena which are claimed 
to belong to the domain of the supernatural. 

But, supposing the fact of the death and the subsequent 
resurrection of Jesus to have been verified beyond a scien- 
tific doubt, there is another alleged fact which must be con- 
sidered in that connection. It is alleged that he was a God, 
equal in power and coexistent with the Father. If that be 
true, it does not follow, because he had the power to resume 
his physical investiture after having been crucified, dead, and 
buried, that a mere man possesses the same power of resur- 
rection after the death of the physical body. In other words, 
the mere fact that Christ, a God, rose from the dead does 
not demonstrate the principle of immortality for mankind. 

Again, supposing that Jesus was a mere man, invested 
only with the powers and attributes of common humanity, 

1 1 Corinthians xv. 12-14. 



44 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

and hedged about by the same limitations ; and that God, 
as a special manifestation of Divine favor, or for some inscru- 
table purpose, wrought a miracle in behalf of Jesus and 
restored him to life, it does not follow that God will repeat 
the miracle in behalf of each individual for all time to come. 
If it was a miracle, it was clearly outside of the domain of 
natural law, and each repetition of it must also transcend the 
order of Nature. The only other alternative is to suppose 
that the miracle wrought at the resurrection repealed the 
old law of Nature and instituted a new one in its stead. We 
are nowhere taught that a miracle permanently changes the 
order of Nature. If it did, the miracle at Cana would have 
changed all the waters of the earth into wine ; and the 
miracle of the loaves and fishes would have released man 
from that part of the primeval curse which has compelled 
him to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. 

It will thus be seen that prescriptive authority, even 
when sanctioned by the words of the only book which has 
been held by the Christian world to have had a divine 
origin, is not invested with a sufficient power of conviction 
to silence the objections of modern science. The sceptical 
world still demands the same proofs concerning the realities 
of spiritual life that it requires as the price of its assent to 
the propositions of material science. I hope, before I close 
my labors on this volume, measurably to satisfy the demands 
of intelligent scepticism ; but in the mean time I beg the 
reader to remember that in these preliminary observations 
I am attempting to give voice to a few of the objections of 
modern science against the qualitative character of the 
proofs of a future life afforded by the Bible. My individual 
estimate of the New Testament records as a proof of 
immortality will be given in its appropriate place. 

The third ground of belief in a future life is the result of 
philosophical speculation. This is a topic of such vast 
magnitude that it could only be briefly summarized within 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 45 

the limits of a volume like this. It would be foreign to the 
purpose of this book to undertake such a task, and it could 
lead to no useful result if all the arguments embraced under 
this head could be given in full. They all begin and end 
with the confession of the utter impossibility of demon- 
strating a future life by scientific methods ; or if the author 
fails to make the acknowledgment, he forces the conviction 
upon his readers that such is the fact. Thus Alger, in his 
masterly epitome of the thought of mankind on the destiny 
of man, from which quotations have already been made, 
has this confession to make : " The majestic theme of our 
immortality allures yet baffles us. No fleshly implement of 
logic or cunning tact of brain can reach the solution. That 
secret lies in a tissueless realm, whereof no nerve can report 
beforehand. We must wait a little. Soon we shall grope 
and guess no more, but grasp and know." 

Thus, again, America's greatest philosopher, Emerson, 
whose sublime faith overreached the bounds of logic and 
disdained the trammels of science when it failed to reveal 
what his soul saw so clearly mirrored in the vault of heaven, 
whilst confessing his inability to give scientific grounds for 
the faith that was in him, dogmatically asserts that " man 
is to live hereafter." Continuing, he says: "That the 
world is for his education is the only sane solution of the 
enigma." Again, he makes this confession: "I am a 
better believer, and all serious souls are better believers, in 
immortality than we can give grounds for. The real evidence 
is too subtle, or is higher than we can write down in propo- 
sitions. We cannot prove our faith by syllogisms" 

This is the melancholy outcome of all philosophical or 
metaphysical speculation regarding the destiny of man after 
the portals of the tomb are passed. It leads us into a maze 
of doubts and alternate hopes and fears, and ends with the 
despairing confession that " we cannot prove our faith by 
syllogisms." 



46 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

It sounds very unscientific, but I must confess that I 
attach more of scientific value and importance to Emerson's 
dogmatic assertion that " man is to live hereafter " than I 
do to the aggregate of the philosophical speculations known 
to the literature of the subject. His was one of those pure, 
lofty, and poetic souls whose intuitive perception and recog- 
nition of truth is oftentimes as perfect as a mathematical 
demonstration. As before remarked, this statement sounds 
unscientific ; but I will endeavor to show, in the proper 
place, that it is not wholly so. Those who have read " The 
Law of Psychic Phenomena," especially that part of it 
relating to the subjective element in poets and poetry, will 
readily comprehend my meaning. 

Perhaps the best specimen of philosophical speculation 
on the subject is Plato's "Phaedo," wherein he puts into 
the mouth of Socrates an elaborate argument for immortal 
life. How far it represents the actual opinions of Socrates 
it is impossible to know, for it is on record that Socrates 
repudiated some of the sentiments which Plato ascribed to 
him in some of his earlier works. But as Socrates was 
dead when the "Phaedo" was written, and as Plato was 
not present on the occasion when the argument was said to 
have been made, it seems but just to the memory of Socrates 
to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, it is on 
record that his utterances during his trial do not agree with 
those ascribed to him by Plato when he was philosophizing 
with his friends on the day of his death. However, as it is 
the philosophy, and not the history, of the Greeks that we 
are discussing, we will relegate that question to its ancient 
obscurity. The argument, or rather the three arguments, 
may be briefly summarized as follows : — 

His first argument is, that everything in Nature has its 
contrary. Day follows night, sleep is followed by vigilance, 
fair is the contrary of foul, justice of injustice, etc. From 
this he infers that, as life is the contrary of death, it follows 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 47 

that life must succeed death and be produced from it. It 
might just as well be said that every acid must necessarily 
become an alkali, or everything bitter must sometime 
become sweet. It is, in fact, one of those analogical argu- 
ments which have been discussed, in which conclusions as 
to spiritual things are drawn from physical phenomena. 

His second argument is based on the assumption that all 
our present knowledge is merely reminiscence \ that is, our 
acquired knowledge is nothing but the recollection of what 
we knew in a former state, and that, having existed in a 
former state, we may confidently count on a continued 
existence in a future state. 

This is a modified form of the doctrine of reincarnation 
so long held by the Hindu philosophers, and which is now 
rapidly gaining a foothold in the Western world. It is need- 
less to say that there are no facts to sustain such a doctrine ; 
but the class of minds in which it finds a lodgment cling to 
it all the more pertinaciously on that account. There are 
many thousands of people in this country at present who 
fully agree with Plato in his doctrine of reminiscence ; and 
many of them are full of reminiscences of their own former 
incarnations. The singular fact of it is that none but the 
great men of former times appear to have been reincar- 
nated in the nineteenth century. It is also somewhat 
remarkable that one man can occupy so many different 
bodies at the same time. I suppose that Socrates at the 
present moment inhabits some thousands of different mod- 
ern earthly tabernacles. George Washington is also very 
generously distributed among the American people. And 
so of other great men. If we are to believe all that we are 
told by those who are favored with "reminiscences" of a 
former life, there are three very obvious deductions which 
seem inevitable. The first is that no common man is ever 
reincarnated ; second, that the capacity of great men for 
minute subdivision is illimitable ; and third, that reincar- 



48 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

nation does not improve the mental capacity of the 
reincarnated. 

It is difficult to treat the doctrine of reincarnation 
seriously ; but from the fact that its followers are becoming 
numerous it assumes the aspect of a mental phenomenon 
which must be considered with others of a cognate char- 
acter. It is, in fact, a psychic phenomenon, and properly 
belongs to the domain of experimental psychology. The 
idea originated among a people who for thousands of years 
have practised hypnotism and kindred arts, and have con- 
sequently built up a philosophy upon a basis of subjective 
hallucinations. Having practised their arts in utter igno- 
rance of the law of suggestion, it follows that their information 
regarding the other world is just as defective as that obtained 
in this country through spirit mediums or other forms of 
hypnotism, and for the same reason. As in spiritistic 
communications, all that is requisite is the proper suggestion 
to prove any doctrine whatever; and any one can easily 
obtain a large and varied assortment of " reminiscences of 
a former life " by employing a hypnotist and submitting to 
his manipulations and the proper suggestions. All " remi- 
niscences " of that character may be traced to that or cognate 
causes. 

The third argument of Plato is, that compound substances 
alone are liable to corruption, or disintegration; and that 
the soul, being a simple substance, cannot be affected by 
the death of the body. 

This, like the other arguments, is founded on mere 
assumption without proof. How does any one know that 
the soul is a simple substance ? What facts demonstrate it ? 
Considering the various powers, functions, and affections of 
the soul, together with the multiplicity of its ideas and 
emotions, there are just as good reasons for asserting that it 
is a compound substance as there are for asserting the 
contrary. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 49 

This, then, is the philosophical argument of Plato. It is 
neither better nor worse than that of any one of his 
successors who assumes premises that are either not demon- 
strably true, or are demonstrably untrue. It lacks every 
essential element of a logical argument \ and, were it pro- 
mulgated to-day for the first time, it would receive the 
assent of no one acquainted with the elementary principles 
of correct reasoning. In its day, however, it received the 
instant and enthusiastic assent of a very large class of 
people. The doctrine that death is not affliction, but, on 
the contrary, a direct and sure entrance to a happier life, so 
influenced the minds of many that they laid violent hands 
upon themselves in order the sooner to attain that happier 
life. It is even said that Ptolemaeus Philadelphus pro- 
hibited Hegisias of Cyrene from teaching it in his school, 
for fear of depopulating his kingdom. Cicero tells us that 
it was written of Cleombrotus of Ambracia that, " having 
paid his last compliment to the sun, he threw himself head- 
long from the top of a tower into hell; not that he had 
done anything worthy of death, but had only read Plato's 
Treatise on the Immortality of the Soul." 

It is needless to remark that, as a promoter of suicide, 
the treatise has long since lost its potency. 

The fourth in the series of arguments commonly em- 
ployed to prove immortality is that of instinctive desire. 
No more beautiful summary of the argument exists in the 
English language than that of Addison : — 

" Plato, thou reason's t well, 
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 
This longing after immortality ? 
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror 
Of falling into naught ? Why shrinks the soul 
Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? 
'T is the divinity that stirs within us ; 
'T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter, 
And intimates eternity to man." x 

1 Addison's " Cato." 
4 



50 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

"The strongest argument " in favor of immortality, says 
Cicero, " is that Nature herself is tacitly persuaded of the 
immortality of the soul; which appears from that great 
concern, so generally felt by all, for what shall happen after 
death." 

Alger summarizes the argument, and at the same time 
hints at the answer, as follows : — 

" It is obvious that man is endowed at once with fore- 
knowledge of death, and with a powerful love of life. It is not 
a love of being here ; for he often loathes the scene around him. 
It is a love of self-possessed existence ; a love of his own soul 
in its central consciousness and bounded royalty. This is the 
inseparable element of his very entity. Crowned with free-will, 
walking on the crest of the world, enfeoffed with individual 
faculties, served by vassal nature with tributes of various joy, 
he cannot bear the thought of losing himself, or of sliding into 
the general abyss of matter. His inferior consciousness is 
permeated with a self-preserving instinct, and shudders at every 
glimpse of danger or hint of death. The soul, pervaded with a 
guardian instinct of life, and seeing death's steady approach 
to destroy the body, necessitates the conception of an es- 
cape into another state of existence. Fancy and reason, thus 
set at work, speedily construct a thousand theories filled with 
details. Desire first fathers the thought, and then thought 
woos belief." 

As I have before intimated, this is the strongest of all the 
old arguments in favor of immortality. It is a valid argu- 
ment as far as it goes, for it is an observable phenomenon 
— an instinct — of the human mind which points in the 
direction of a future life. But whilst it is a valid argument, 
it is not conclusive, for the reason that it lacks the one 
essential element of a conclusive argument. A phenomenon 
can only be said to be a conclusive demonstration of the 
truth of a proposition when there remains no other way of 
accounting for the phenomenon. This is true, a fortiori, 
when we are seeking to account for a mundane phenomenon 
by referring it to a supermundane cause. Thus, if man, 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 5 I 

and man only, desired to live, and if his desire for life had 
reference only to an existence beyond the grave, and if that 
desire were clearly shown to be instinctive and universal, 
then it might be said to be a conclusive argument in sup- 
port of the hypothesis of a future life. But this " instinctive 
desire," which so strongly possesses the mind of a man, for 
a future life, is easily accounted for by reference to that 
instinct of self-preservation which is proverbially " the first 
law of nature," is common to all physical organisms, and is 
no stronger in man than it is in the lowest order of animal 
life. Man, however, recognizes the fact that his physical 
organism must perish; but, in the egotism of his manhood, 
he rebels against the thought of dying as the brute dieth. 
He looks upon himself as the crowning glory of physical 
nature. He counts and measures the steps of his evolution 
from the primordial germ, compares the brief span of his 
existence with the aeons which have been consumed in his 
production, and concludes that somehow he has been 
cheated by dissembling Nature of his fair proportion of 
time and opportunity. At first he rebels against being 
classed as a lineal descendant of the lower organisms ; but 
the steps of his evolution are too plainly defined in the 
structure of his predecessors, his pedigree is too clearly 
written in that of his own, to admit of rational doubt. 
Compelled to own his relationship to the rest of animated 
Nature, he finds consolation in the thought that, whilst he 
may be a product of evolution, he is no longer subject to 
its laws. He is the product of a process. He is like a 
machine, which is produced by means of a great variety of 
processes, but is emancipated from all connection with 
those employed in its construction the moment it is com- 
pleted and sent out into the world to perform its functions. 
Thus, it is argued, is man emancipated from the processes 
of his evolution and placed upon the apex of Nature, from 
which point his only means of further progress is by flight 



52 DEMONSTRATION- OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

into some unknown region where the object of his creation 
can be accomplished. 1 

With such assumptions does man console himself for his 
obvious relationship to his fellow worms, and for his lack of 
time in this life to work out what he fondly conceives to be 
his mission and destiny. He ignores, or denies, the fact 
that the same processes of evolution which produced him 
are still at work in himself and in all his environment, — 
the same survival of the fittest, though modified by the 
state of his progress in civilization ; the same struggle for 
life, though modified by the element of an enforced altru- 
ism, if such a term is admissible, which compels the inclu- 
sion of his race in the object of his struggle. He forgets, 
too, that the same element which he is pleased to term 
altruism in himself, is common to many of the lower ani- 
mals \ and that his longing for a future life may be traced 
to that instinct of self-preservation which he possesses in 
common with all animated, nay, all organic Nature, and 
without which the world would soon be depopulated. It 
seems clear, therefore, that instinctive desire, whilst it is a 
valid argument as far as it goes, is very far from being con- 
clusive ; and must, therefore, for the present, be classed in 
the same category with many other phenomena of the 
human mind which seem to point in the direction of a 
supermundane existence, but logically fail because they are 
explicable by reference to principles of natural law with 
which the world is well acquainted. 

1 See Fiske's " Destiny of Man." 







CHAPTER III. 



SPIRITISM AND HYPNOTISM. 



The Phenomena of Spiritism. — Scepticism of the Church. — The 
Present Attitude of Science. — Spiritistic Phenomena Genuine. — 
The Two Hypotheses. — The Spirit Medium Self-Hypnotized. — 
The Intelligence Manifested. — Experimental Hypnotism produces 
the same Phenomena. — The Power of Telepathy. — The Law of 
Suggestion. — Suggestion controls the Medium. — The Manu- 
facture of Mediums by Hypnotism. — The Hypothesis of Duality 
of Mind. — The Objective and Subjective Minds. — The Condi- 
tion of the Medium and the Hypnotized Subject Identical. — 
They are governed by the Same Laws. — Socrates as a Roman. — 
The Spirit of " Cantharides " Invoked. — The Medium not neces- 
sarily Dishonest. — The Laws of Telepathy. 



T HAVE now briefly reviewed a few of the leading argu- 
* ments upon which the Christian world has built its 
hopes of a future life. I have endeavored to show why it 
is that none of them are convincing to the minds of those 
who are accustomed to the methods of reasoning which are 
applied to the solution of the problems of the material uni- 
verse. It has been shown that no one has attempted to 
apply the processes of induction to the solution of the great 
problem, and for the very good reason that, outside of Bibli- 
cal records, no facts have been adduced, no phenomena 
have been observed, by the writers on the subject of a future 
life, upon which immortality for mankind can be legiti- 
mately predicated. We now approach a field of observation, 
however, which bristles with facts and phenomena which 
millions of our race believe to be demonstrative of a life 



54 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

beyond the grave. It is unnecessary to say that I allude to 
the phenomena of so-called spiritism. 

It has been customary for the Christian Church to ignore 
the claims of spiritists to recognition as fellow- workers in 
the realm of spiritual philosophy. It has derided their pre- 
tensions to an experimental knowledge of the truth of one 
of the essential doctrines of the Christian Church ; namely, 
the doctrine of immortal life. It has persistently denied 
the genuineness of their phenomena \ or, where compelled 
to admit the verity of the manifestations (which differ in 
no essential particular from those recorded in Holy Writ) , it 
has attributed them to diabolical agency. Scientists, until 
within a very few years, have been content with a general 
denial of the existence of the phenomena, and a disdainful 
refusal to investigate. Their attitude is identical with that 
of one of their number, who, when called upon to explain the 
phenomenon of the fall of meteoric stones, exclaimed : 
" There are no stones in the air ; therefore no stones fall 
from the air." The materialistic scientist says, " There are 
no spirits ; therefore there are no spiritistic phenomena." 

Happily for mankind, and much to the credit of a vast 
number of consistent members of the Christian Church, as 
well as of thousands of the ablest scientists in the civilized 
world, this attitude is no longer popular, but is fast giving 
way to one of intelligent and honest investigation. This 
change is largely due to the London Society for Psychical 
Research, which comprises among its members a large 
number of scientists whose reputation as careful investigators 
in the realm of natural science is international. The result 
is that there is no longer a rational doubt of the genuine- 
ness of so-called spiritistic phenomena among those who 
have taken the trouble to apply the strict rules of scien- 
tific inquiry to the subject-matter. They declare that no 
phenomenon in the realm of physical science is better 
authenticated than those of so-called spiritism. This being 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 55 

true, it follows that the causes must be investigated with 
the same care and in the same spirit of candor that has 
characterized the investigation of the fact ; and to that end 
the millions of human beings who have claimed a super- 
mundane origin for the phenomena are entitled to a respect- 
ful hearing. For, if their hypothesis is demonstrably true, 
the question of spirit life is no longer a speculative prob- 
lem ; and if it is not true, it is important that the world 
should know to what power or law of Nature the phenomena 
are to be attributed. 

In dealing with the phenomena under consideration I do 
not propose to waste the time of the reader by the discus- 
sion of each particular phase of manifestation. A volume 
of the size of this would be all too small to discuss exhaust- 
ively the many-sided problem, or to explain the various 
characteristics of the phenomena. Besides, it would be 
but a repetition of what I have already done in" another 
work. 1 It will only be necessary here to discuss the one 
salient feature which is common to all the phenomena; 
and that is the intelligence which is manifested. This intel- 
ligence claims to be from the denizens of another world ; 
and spiritists hold that there is indubitable evidence in the 
manifestations themselves that they proceed from spirits of 
the dead. 

It will, however, be necessary to discuss the subject of 
spiritism at some length, for the reason that in the consid- 
eration of scientific problems it is of the very first impor- 
tance that the phenomena under consideration should be 
properly classified. There are two hypotheses employed to 
account for so-called spiritistic phenomena. One is that 
they proceed from disembodied spirits ; and the other is 
that they are produced by the conscious or unconscious 

1 For a full discussion of the various phases and characteristics of 
spiritism and other psychic phenomena, see the author's work entitled 
" The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 



w 



56 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

exercise of powers inherent in the living man ; and that the 
known powers of the embodied human soul are sufficient to 
account for all that is mysterious in the phenomena. Both 
these hypotheses cannot be true. One must be true and 
the other false. There can be no compromise, as some 
spiritists would have us believe. They are not concurrent 
hypotheses. They are absolutely antagonistic. Hence the 
importance of properly classifying the phenomena at the 
threshold of our argument. For if it is found that they are 
produced by the living, then we have a solid basis of fact 
from which we can deduce the most momentous conclusions 
regarding the destiny of man. But if it can be demon- 
strated that the whole, or any part, of spiritistic phenomena 
are produced by disembodied spirits, the whole subject is 
thrown into logical chaos ; for a future life for man is not 
demonstrated by showing that spirits communicate with the 
living, — for the very obvious reason that we still have no 
means of determining whether any communicating spirit is 
that of one who has once lived upon the earth, or is an 
" evil spirit," or an " elemental," or an " elementary," or a 
" devil," or any other of the denizens of the other world 
with which it has been peopled by superstition. 

It is well known to all observers of spiritistic phenomena 
that the one essential prerequisite to their production is the 
presence of a so-called " medium." The term " medium " 
has been bestowed upon those who are instrumental in the 
production of the phenomena, because of the assumption 
that the intelligence conveyed is from spirits of the dead to 
the living. The instrument through which these messages 
are conveyed is, therefore, designated as a "medium." This 
term, consequently, implies a theory of causation ; and as it 
is better to avoid giving an implied assent to any theory by 
the employment of a careless terminology, I shall hereinafter 
employ the more non-committal term of psychic to designate 
the person in whose presence these manifestations occur. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 57 

The psychic is usually seated at a table around which 
several others are gathered, and the collective company is 
designated as a " circle." After all are seated and quiet is se- 
cured, the psychic enters into a state which may be described 
by the generic term of trance. This state, it may be pre- 
mised, is identical with that of hypnosis, and it varies in 
depth from that of an apparently normal condition to that 
of profound objective insensibility. This condition is self- 
induced, and during its continuance various phenomena are 
produced ; though each psychic is usually confined to one 
class of manifestations. In the presence of some psychics 
percussive sounds are heard, called "spirit raps." These 
are sometimes heard on the table, at other times on the 
floor, or on the walls, ceiling, or furniture of the room. In 
presence of other psychics the table is tilted, and often- 
times it levitates into the air without physical contact with 
any one. Some psychics write automatically; that is, they 
seize a pencil and write, their hand seemingly being moved 
by an extraneous force which acts independently of the 
conscious volition of the psychic. 

It would be tedious even to enumerate the different forms 
which these manifestations assume, and it would be foreign 
to my purpose to do so ; but there is one characteristic 
common to all the phenomena. They all manifest intelli- 
gence, and this intelligence is almost invariably exercised 
independently of the conscious volition of the psychic. If 
the psychic is what is known as a " writing medium," mes- 
sages will be written purporting to emanate from spirits of 
the dead ; and the information conveyed will often tran- 
scend the conscious knowledge of the psychic, and some- 
times the messages will convey information not in the 
conscious possession either of the psychic or of any one 
else in the room. So perfect is the automatism of some 
psychics that they will write long messages, characterized by 
more than ordinary intelligence and -by perfect coherency, 






58 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

and at the same time carry on an animated conversation 
with others in the room, and on a subject entirely foreign 
to that of the message which they are writing. Others have 
been known to write normally on one subject with the right 
hand, while at the same time the left was automatically 
writing a message on another subject, the latter purporting 
to emanate from the spirit of some one who is dead. 

In fact, the intellectual feats performed by some psychics 
almost transcend belief, and, were they not abundantly au- 
thenticated by the most severe scientific tests, would be 
unworthy of credence. As it is, they demand investigation 
by the strictest rules of logical induction, with the view of 
testing the validity of the hypothesis that they are of super- 
mundane origin. In doing so we should always bear in 
mind the fundamental axiom of science that we have nei- 
ther occasion nor logical right to attribute any phenomenon 
to supermundane agency if it is explicable by reference to 
natural laws. On the other hand, if they cannot be thus 
explained, those who hold to the supermundane explanation 
have a right to demand that their hypothesis shall be pro- 
visionally accepted. A fact is a fact, and a psychic fact is 
just as much a fact as a waxing and waning moon. Science 
has no more right to ignore the one than the other. No 
fact in Nature can safely be ignored, for no fact is wholly 
insignificant. Each is so inseparably bound up with the 
others that if even the most apparently unimportant fact is 
left out of consideration, inextricable confusion is likely to 
follow. An apparently insignificant fact is like a cipher in 
arithmetic. Separately considered, it has no value ; but in 
its proper place it increases the value of the other figures 
tenfold. Drop one out at any given point, and the whole 
calculation results in a wrong conclusion. This is why the 
old psychology is incomplete, confused, and unsatisfactory. 
It was built up on a basis of speculative philosophy, and, 
necessarily, in utter ignorance of a vast array of psychic 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 59 

facts and principles which have transpired and been discov- 
ered within the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 

It is the same with speculative theology. Never, before 
the development of experimental psychology, has it been 
possible to demonstrate, with anything like scientific accu- 
racy, the fact that man has a soul. With the advent, 
however, of hypnotism, mesmerism, and cognate psychic 
phenomena, all has been changed ; and it is now possible to 
demonstrate the truth of many propositions that have here- 
tofore lain wholly in the realm of speculative philosophy, or 
have been relegated by the scientific world to the domain 
of superstition. New discoveries are constantly being made 
in the psychic world, — discoveries which promise soon to 
place psychology fairly within the domain of the exact 
sciences. Then will man, in the truest sense, be enabled to 
"look through Nature up to Nature's God," not by means 
of vain analogies drawn from the realm of gross material 
existence, but by studying his own powers and attributes. 
The divine pedigree of man and his title-deed to immortal 
life are written upon the tablets of his own soul, and not 
upon the wings of the Lepidoptera. 

Experimental hypnotism demonstrates several important 
characteristics of man's mental organization which throw a 
flood of light upon many obscure problems of psychology. 
The first and most important of these characteristics is the 
fact that man possesses a dual mental organization. This is 
an old doctrine which has been held by speculative philoso- 
phers from Plato down to the present day; but it was 
never scientifically demonstrated until hypnotism revealed 
it as a law of the human intellect. When a person is per- 
fectly hypnotized, his objective senses are put to sleep. He 
can neither hear, see, smell, taste, nor feel, except at the 
will of the hypnotist who induces the lethargy. At the 
bidding of the latter, however, the subject can be roused to 
a state of intense activity and power. His mind then 



V 



60 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

seems to be completely transformed, and to possess powers 
and attributes which were entirely foreign to the subject in 
his normal condition. His memory is exalted, and in 
many cases it seems to be practically perfect. In many 
instances he develops the power of telepathy, — that is, 
the power to read the mind of the operator, or of any 
one with whom he is en rapport. This is one of the 
most important things to be remembered in this connec- 
tion. The power of reading the minds of those with 
whom the hypnotized person comes in mental contact is 
the master key which unlocks many of the grand mys- 
teries of psychic phenomena. That power, in connec- 
tion with the perfection of his memory, constitutes a 
salient feature of the accomplishments of every well- 
developed psychic. 

There is, however, another characteristic of the psychic's 
mind when in the hypnotic or partially hypnotic state, 
which constitutes the greatest and most important discovery 
of modern experimental psychology. It is this : when hyp- 
notized, the subject is constantly amenable to control by 
suggestion ; that is to say, he accepts as absolutely true 
every statement that is made to him. Thus, if he is told 
that he is the President of the United States, he will 
immediately accept the statement as true, and assume all 
the airs of importance and dignity that he may conceive to 
be the legitimate concomitant of that more or less exalted 
position. If he is then told that he is a street mendicant, 
he will immediately change his demeanor and assume an 
attitude of humble suppliancy. In short, he may be made 
to believe that he is anything, animate or inanimate, and 
he will act the part suggested with wonderful fidelity to 
nature, just so far as his knowledge of the characteristics of 
the person or thing suggested extends. Thus, if it is sug- 
gested that he is some one of his intimate acquaintances, 
he will immediately proceed to imitate all. the salient 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 6 1 

peculiarities of his friend in voice, tone, gesture, and 
favorite topics of conversation. 

Again, it may be suggested to him that he is the spirit of 
some deceased friend or acquaintance. It matters not. 
He will confidently believe the suggestion to be literally 
true, and will assume the characteristics of the deceased, 
and will, if interrogated, give a full account of his surround- 
ings in the spirit world, albeit his account of his spirit 
abode will be in exact accordance with his own precon- 
ceived ideas on that subject. In other words, the sugges- 
tions embraced in his education will give character to his 
account of his imaginary spirit environment. These facts 
are well known to ail hypnotists \ and any one familiar with 
the works of the mesmerists of the first half of the present 
century will recall a thousand instances illustrating what 
has been said. Those works were written, and the experi- 
ments made, in utter ignorance of the inexorable law of 
suggestion \ and, hence, many believed that the mesmerized 
subjects were actually in communication with the spirit 
world. One man 1 devoted his life to hypnotizing people, 
sending them to the spirit land, and recording their ac- 
counts of what they saw. It is unnecessary to remark that 
his book was for many years a standard authority among 
spiritists, — a book of reference, by consulting which all 
disputed questions relating to the topography, sociology, 
or climatology of the spirit world could be definitely 
settled. 

Again, it is well known to hypnotists that a suggestion to 
a subject that he is under the control of a spirit will result 
in the production of all the phenomena of spirit medium- 
ship, limited only by his lack of training as a psychic. It 
is also well known that the quickest and surest way to train 
a psychic for spirit mediumship is to hypnotize him often 
enough to produce the requisite neurotic condition, accom- 

i Cahagnet. 



1 



62 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

panying each hypnotization with suggestions of spirit pres- 
ence and spirit control. Other things being equal, the 
best psychics are those who have been developed by hyp- 
notic processes. It is perfectly easy by suggestion to train 
a psychic to habits of self-hypnotization ; and when that is 
accomplished, he is ready to enter the field as a full-fledged 

medium of communication between the two worlds. 

» 

It is impossible within the space at my command to give 
even a re'sumb of the many characteristics of the hypno- 
tized subject which go to establish the fact of duality of 
mind. Nor does it matter, for the purposes of this dis- 
cussion, whether we regard man as being possessed of two 
minds, each possessing independent powers and attributes, 
or regard his one mind as being possessed of certain 
diverse powers which manifest themselves differently under 
varying conditions. The fact remains, however, that every- 
thing happens just as though man were possessed of a dual 
mind ; and we have a logical right, therefore, to assume it 
to be true as a provisional hypothesis. Besides, having 
fully discussed that question elsewhere, 1 I cannot, without 
unseemly repetition, discuss it exhaustively here. 

I have assumed, therefore, that man possesses a dual 
mind. For the sake of clearness, as well as for the want 
of a better term, I have designated one as the " objective 
mind " and the other as the " subjective mind." 

"The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective 
world. Its media of observation are the five physical senses. 

' The subjective mind takes cognizance of its environment 
by means independent of the physical senses. It perceives by 
intuition. It is the seat of the emotions, and the storehouse of 
memory. It performs its highest functions when the objective 
senses are in abeyance. In a word, it is that intelligence which 
makes itself manifest in a hypnotic subject when he is in a state 
of somnambulism." 2 

1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 

2 Op. cit. p. 29. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 63 

In adopting this terminology I have merely followed that 
of Averroes, as given by Professor Draper in his " Conflict 
between Religion and Science \ " although the meaning 
which he attaches to his term — " objective intellect" — 
differs materially from that of my definition of the objective 
mind. His term — " subjective intellect " — is explained 
as follows : — 

" The individual, or passive, or subjective intellect is an ema- 
nation from the universal, and constitutes what is termed the 
soul of man." 

This perfectly expresses my belief regarding the subjective 
mind. It not only possesses powers and functions which 
act independently of those of the objective mind, but its 
very manifestation shows it to be a distinct entity, and 
apparently capable of maintaining an existence indepen- 
dently of the body. It is a spark of the Divine Intelligence. 
It is the soul. 

I have now sufficiently enlarged upon the subject of the 
dual hypothesis to enable the intelligent reader to grasp 
my meaning. The law of suggestion has also been clearly 
explained. It has also been shown that telepathy, or mind- 
reading, is a power of the hypnotized subject. The three 
propositions of my hypothesis, therefore, stand thus : — 

1. Man is possessed of a dual mind, — objective and 
subjective. 

2. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control 
by suggestion. 

3. Telepathy is a power of the subjective mind. 

With these three fundamental propositions clearly before 
us, we are prepared intelligently to compare the phenomena 
of spiritism with those of hypnotism, with the view of a 
candid inquiry whether there is any phenomenon produced 
by the one that cannot be reproduced by the other. Or, to 
put it in another form, is there anything in the phenomena 



64 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

of spiritism that cannot be explained by reference to the 
known powers inherent in the living man as developed by 
and through the science of hypnotism ? 

A brief comparison of the two classes of phenomena will 
make a prima facie case against the spiritistic hypothesis. 
It would, however, be more in accordance with the princi- 
ples of logical scientific investigation to say that the spirit- 
istic hypothesis is, prima facie, untrue, and that the onus 
probandi is upon those who claim a supermundane origin 
for any phenomenon whatever. But we will waive our logical 
rights for the moment, and proceed to assume the burden 
of proof. 

In the first place, the condition of the psychic when 
producing spiritistic phenomena is identical with that of the 
hypnotized subject. The only difference between the two 
is not in the condition, but in the method of inducing the 
condition. Both are hypnotized; but the psychic is self- 
hypnotized by an auto-suggestion, whereas the hypnotic sub- 
ject is hypnotized by the suggestion of another. It is well 
known, however, that any hypnotic subject can easily be 
trained to hypnotize himself. When that is done, all the 
conditions requisite to successful " mediumship " are present 
in the hypnotic subject ; and if he believes in spiritism, the 
suggestion embraced in that belief will do the rest. It may 
be objected that the spiritistic psychic often produces his 
phenomena while apparently in his normal condition. To 
this it is answered that there are also an infinite number of 
degrees of hypnotism which shade into each other imper- 
ceptibly, ranging from the apparently normal state to that 
of profound hypnotic lethargy. Thus, Bernheim 2 was 
enabled to produce " all suggestive phenomena up to 
hallucination," while the patient w r as in the "waking condi- 
tion ; " that is, in a condition that could not be distinguished 
from the normal by any ordinary tests. That the subject 

1 Suggestive Therapeutics, pp. 79, 81, 83. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 6$ 

was actually hypnotized, however, was demonstrated by 
the very fact that he was controllable by suggestion. In 
one case he produced such a perfect state of analgesia, by 
mere suggestion, the patient being in the " waking condi- 
tion," that the application of Dubois Raymond's electrical 
apparatus, with "the greatest current attainable" turned on, 
produced no sensation whatever; although, as Bernheim 
remarks, "the painful sensation thus produced is normally 
unbearable." 

It will thus be seen that the degree of hypnosis has no 
necessary effect upon the manifestations, either in hypnotism 
proper, or in the psychic phenomena of spiritism. Practice 
in each case seems to develop the suggestibility of the 
psychic and his consequent ability to produce the various 
phenomena while in a condition apparently closely ap- 
proaching the normal. 

That the condition of the psychic and that of the hyp- 
notic subject are identical, is further demonstrated by the 
fact that they are governed by the same laws. The most 
important of these laws is that of suggestion ; and all the 
facts of spiritistic phenomena show that the psychic is 
constantly dominated by that subtle power. His very 
entrance into the psychic state is produced by the sugges- 
tion embraced in his belief that he is about to pass under 
the control of an extraneous force which he believes to be 
a spirit. When he is thus self-hypnotized, he is necessarily 
amenable to the same power. This is clearly shown by the 
well-known fact that any spirit can then be invoked by those 
present, and one spirit will respond just as readily as another. 
Besides, the spirit of a living man will respond with as much 
alacrity as that of a dead man, provided the question is 
asked in such a way as to cause the psychic to believe that 
the bearer of the name is dead. Moreover, the spirit of a 
purely imaginary person is just as responsive to an invoca- 
tion as any other. The writer once attended a spiritistic 

5 



66 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

seance presided over by an ignorant psychic. Some one 
asked for the spirit of Socrates \ and the old philosopher 
promptly responded. His communication was couched in 
terms that were evidently intended to be somewhat lofty, 
and were so considered by the enthusiastic admirers of the 
psychic \ nor was their admiration at all diminished by the 
fact that Socrates seemed to labor under the impression 
that he was a Roman when on earth. This was afterwards 
explained by a prominent local authority in spirit philosophy 
by saying that those old spirits had reached an altitude so 
far removed from earthly life that they were no longer 
interested in mundane affairs, and many of them had really 
forgotten their earthly names and nationality. A wag who 
was present asked for a communication from " the ancient 
Greek philosopher, Cantharides." This request was also 
promptly complied with in an equally lofty strain of bad 
English. When asked for a description of the latter per- 
sonage, the psychic described an old man with long white 
hair, a flowing beard, and a "very high forehead." This 
goes to show either that the psychic was dominated by an 
absurdly false suggestion, or that evolution is more rapid in 
the spirit land than it is here ; for the description of the 
personality of " Cantharides " certainly did not suggest a 
coleopterous ancestry. 

To do the psychic entire justice, let me say that a cir- 
cumstance like the foregoing does not, in the remotest 
degree, impugn his honesty or sincerity. He is in a hyp- 
notic condition. Being in that state, he is necessarily 
dominated by the laws pertaining to it. His normal reason 
is in abeyance. His subjective mind is active ; and the 
one all-potent, never-failing law of subjective mental activity 
is the law of suggestion. Like every other law of Nature, 
there are no exceptions to its inexorable rules. He believes, 
because he must believe, every suggestion made to him. 
The suggestion enforced by the current theory of spiritism 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 6j 

4 

convinces him that he is a chosen medium of spirit com- 
munication with the inhabitants of this world. His reason 
confirms the belief ; for he finds himself dominated by what 
he believes to be an extraneous force which seems to act 
independently of his conscious volition. This force is found 
to possess a remarkable intelligence. It will answer ques- 
tions, and write essays, poems, and polemics with equal 
facility, and it often imparts knowledge and divulges secrets 
of which he is not the conscious custodian. It gives in- 
formation, which he knows he never could have possessed, 
concerning the affairs of his auditors, — secrets, perhaps, 
which the latter declare could never have been known to 
any but themselves and some deceased friend. When the 
intelligence is interrogated, it declares itself to be the dis- 
embodied spirit of the friend who was the joint custodian of 
the sitter's secret. 

With all this array of evidence before him, not only of 
spirit presence but of spirit identity, what is his natural 
conclusion ? He is not a scientist, and does not, therefore, 
know that it is unscientific to believe that man has a soul. 
He was taught at his mother's knee that he not only has a 
soul, but that it is destined to an immortal existence. He 
has never heard of the dual nature of the mind of man, he 
knows nothing of the law of suggestion, and "telepathy" 
is not in his vocabulary. But he has common sense, and 
he is not aware that it is unscientific to exercise it when 
dealing with phenomena which he cannot explain otherwise 
than as being tangible evidence of the truth of what he has 
always been taught to believe was the essence of the teach- 
ings of Holy Writ. And he does believe it, honestly and 
implicitly. It is henceforth his religion, his consolation in 
this life, and the sheet anchor of his faith in immortality. 
With all the evidence before him, and in the absence of 
any other rational explanation, he would be an unreasoning 
sceptic if he did not believe it. 



68 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

It will thus be seen what an all-potent suggestion domi- 
nates his subjective mind. By virtue of the fundamental 
law of its being it must accept every suggestion imparted 
to it, however absurd or contrary to objective knowledge 
and experience. But when it is confirmed by objective 
reason and reinforced by the tenderest emotions and lofti- 
est aspirations of the human soul, it becomes a dominant 
power which cannot be resisted. In this state of mind, 
objective and subjective, the suggestion that a spirit from 
another world is in possession of the psychic's hand and 
guiding its movements, is, and must be, seized upon by his 
subjective mind and implicitly believed and acted upon, and 
the suggested spirit personated with all the preternatural 
acumen and dramatic circumstance characteristic of subjec- 
tive mental activity. If it were not so, then there would 
be a break in the operations of a law of Nature, — an excep- 
tion to the universal rule, which in itself would constitute 
a miracle as great as would be the suspension for a day of 
the law of gravitation. 

Another fact which correlates the phenomena produced 
by the spiritistic psychic with those of hypnotism is that the 
psychic in each case develops the power of telepathy, or 
mind-reading. I shall not waste time in this connection 
by offering proofs of the reality of this power. That work 
has been most thoroughly done by the Society for Psychi- 
cal Research. It is sufficient to say at this time that no 
law or power of Nature has been more completely and 
scientifically demonstrated than has been the law of telepa- 
thy. There is, however, one important principle pertain- 
ing to the subject-matter which must be understood before 
the full significance of the fact relating to it can be appre- 
ciated or comprehended. Telepathy is the means of com- 
munion between subjective minds. The objective mind 
does not necessarily participate in the communication. 
The message, in other words, is not necessarily on a sub- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 69 

ject of which either party is consciously thinking. It 
frequently has no connection whatever with the conscious 
thoughts of either of the participants in the production of 
the phenomena. A message of the utmost importance may, 
therefore, never rise above the threshold of the " percipi- 
ent's " * consciousness or even be consciously sent by the 
" agent." It requires some degree of psychic development 
to enable one to become conscious of the reception of a 
telepathic message. Hence it is that comparatively few 
are able to perceive the details of a communication; 
although there are few who have not felt an unaccountable 
impression which is afterwards discovered to have a tele- 
pathic origin, or is classed as a " coincidence " by the 
sceptical. It requires an extraordinary, even an abnormal 
development of psychic power to enable one consciously to 
read the thoughts of another in detail. That power is 
possessed by few outside the circle of so-called spirit 
mediums, and of those who have developed it by hypnotic 
processes for purposes of public exhibition. 

It is thought that enough has been said to correlate the 
phenomena of spiritism with those of hypnotism, at least 
so far as the conditions necessary for the production of the 
two classes of phenomena are concerned. In the next 
chapter the principles herein set forth will be applied to 
the elucidation of the phenomena alleged to be produced 
by disembodied spirits. I will also take occasion to answer 
some objections urged by scientific students of spiritism 
who hold that there is still a " small residuum " of phe- 
nomena which is not explicable by reference to known 
laws of Nature. 

1 The "percipient/' in the vocabulary of psychic science, is the 
one to whom a message is sent, or who witnesses a phenomenon. 
The " agent " is the one who sends the message, or produces the 
phenomenon. 









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CHAPTER IV. 



SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA. 



The Typical Seance. — "Test" Cases. — The Way Proselytes are 
made. — The Telepathic Explanation. — What Telepathy is. — 
Views of Rev. Minot J. Savage and of Mr. F. W. H. Myers. — 
Their Test Cases Explained. — The Small Residuum of Phenomena 
which they cannot account for. — The Shipwreck. — An Alleged 
Spirit Communication from a Victim. — A Telepathic Explanation. 
— Telepathy vs. Clairvoyance. — A Typical Case. — " Stretching " 
the Theory of Telepathy. — Views of Mr. Podmore. 

THE following propositions have now been provisionally 
* established : — 

i. The condition of the spiritistic psychic or "medium " 
and that of the hypnotic subject are identical at the time 
when their respective phenomena are produced. 

2. That condition in both is what is known to science as 
hypnosis, or partial hypnosis, as the case may be. 

These propositions are demonstrated by the following 
facts : — 

i. The psychics in each case are in a more or less pro- 
found state of objective insensibility. 

2. That state or condition in each case is induced by 
suggestion. 

3. In each case the psychic is constantly amenable to 
control by suggestion. 

4. In each case the power to read the minds of others is 
developed by persistence in the practice of entering the 
hypnotic or subjective condition. 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 71 

It has also been established, as a corollary of the fore- 
going propositions, that in the mind of each psychic a 
subjective hallucination can be induced by a suggestion ; 
and that it is a matter of indifference whether it be an auto- 
suggestion, a telepathic suggestion, or an oral suggestion. 

It is unnecessary to consume much time in the applica- 
tion of these facts to the ordinary manifestations of that 
intelligence which is alleged to proceed from disembodied 
spirits. It may not be amiss, however, to present an 
imaginary case exactly corresponding to those of every-day 
experience. The dramatis personce are a well-developed 
psychic and a client who is seeking for tangible evidence of 
a future life, and will be satisfied with nothing short of a 
" test case " of spirit identity. He is full of hope that 
he may be put in possession of indubitable evidence of the 
reality of spirit intercourse with the living, for he longs to 
establish communication with the loved and lost, — longs 
" for the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a 
voice that is still." But he does not mean to allow his 
emotions to warp his judgment, or to entertain a belief 
whose parentage can be traced to his desires alone. Per- 
haps he has heard of mind-reading, and feels prepared to 
detect any evidence of the exercise of that power, or of 
any species of mental legerdemain. He takes care in the 
selection of a psychic, and seeks one who is utterly 
ignorant of his name, local habitation and antecedents. 
Having found one possessing all the necessary qualifica- 
tions, he seats himself and awaits results. 

The psychic enters the subjective state, and presently 
begins his revelation. He begins by making an exhaustive 
inventory of his client's mental qualifications, whom he 
asserts to be a man of exalted character and gigantic intel- 
lect. He tells him that all he needs is opportunity to make 
his mark in the world ; that he is not as well off in this 
world's goods as he would like to be, but that fame and 



72 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

fortune are near at hand; that he is a fearless investiga- 
tor, but is not easily fooled, etc., etc. All this, however, 
in the estimation of the client, proves nothing but the good 
judgment of the psychic and the clearness of his percep- 
tion of human character. Anybody might know all this at 
a glance, for that matter. It is not even good evidence of 
mind-reading. 

Presently the psychic tells the client's name. He is 
somewhat startled, but reflects that it may have been ob- 
tained from the hotel register, or that it may be mind-read- 
ing. The psychic then describes a spirit of which he sees a 
vision, relates all the circumstances of the death and burial 
of the person, and, perhaps, states the name of the deceased, 
the relationship borne to the client, and many little details 
which may or may not be true. In its important features, 
however, the statement is exact. It is the very person the 
client most desires to communicate with; but he is not 
satisfied. All this is plainly within the domain of mind- 
reading, and he is not to be deceived. But he is interested 
and hopeful, and asks for a communication, which is given. 
It is couched in endearing, but general terms ; plenty of 
good advice is given, and it ends in a rhapsodical expres- 
sion of assurance of a life beyond the grave and of a happy 
reunion when life's fitful fever is over. The client is much 
affected, but reflects that all this is plainly within the capa- 
city of the psychic. What he is after is a " test," and he so 
informs the psychic. Presently the " spirit " relates some 
little episode which the client knows was within the exclu- 
sive knowledge of himself and the deceased. His doubts 
begin to vanish ; but he reflects that the knowledge of the 
circumstance was in his mind, although he does not re- 
member of having thought of it that day. The test is not 
conclusive, and he awaits further developments. 

Up to this point the spiritist of average intelligence will 
agree that no valid evidence of spirit identity has been 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 73 

forthcoming. It is obviously all within the domain and 
possibilities of telepathy. 

Presently another " spirit " appears upon the scene. The 
psychic describes it with great minuteness, and finally gives 
its name. The client is confounded. "This cannot be 
mind-reading," he soliloquizes, " for I have not thought of 
that man for twenty years." He has crossed the Rubicon. 
The limit of his knowledge of telepathy has been reached, 
and to him it is no longer a tenable hypothesis. As if to 
make assurance doubly sure, the " spirit " recalls a business 
transaction between himself and the client which took place 
forty years agone. The client racks his memory in vain for 
a trace of recollection of the transaction. He does not 
even remember of ever having had any business with the 
deceased. He knows, however, that he has the means of 
verifying the statement if it is true, and he closes the seance 
and hurries home to institute a search of his old records. 
He finds, to his surprise and delight, that his spirit friend is 
right in every particular. 

A proselyte is gained for spiritism. Henceforth he haunts 
spirit mediums, and spirit mediums haunt him. Perchance 
his mind is not so warped that he ceases to recognize telep- 
athy as a possible factor in alleged spirit intercourse. He 
may even admit that the great bulk of spiritistic phenomena 
can be accounted for by reference to telepathy; but he 
holds that there is a "small residuum " of phenomena that 
cannot be thus explained. 

Until within a very few years it would have been impos- 
sible, by invoking the aid of telepathy, to account for the 
phenomena which converted our friend. But it has now 
been ascertained that even if one does not happen to be 
consciously thinking of a particular spirit when that spirit is 
announced and correctly described, such a mental condition 
does not militate against the telepathic theory. On the 
contrary, it is clear that what one is consciously thinking of 



74 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

has no necessary connection with the subject of a telepathic 
message. Telepathy, as we have already seen, is the means 
of communication between sub-conscious intelligences ; and 
it is only those who are psychically developed who can be- 
come conscious of the operations of the subjective intel- 
ligence. There are several things to be considered in this 
connection : — 

Firsts it must be remembered that it is the subjective 
mind that reads, and is read, telepathically. 

Secondly, the memory of the subjective mind is prodigious 
and practically perfect ; and it often happens that circum- 
stances entirely forgotten by the objective mind of one who 
consults a psychic are recalled by his subjective mind. Hence 
it is that when the client declares that the circumstance never 
occurred, and afterwards ascertains that he was mistaken, 
it is no evidence whatever of the agency of disembodied 
spirits. Moreover, when we consider the perfection of 
subjective memory and the imperfection of objective recol- 
lection, it is extremely hazardous for any one to say positively 
that he never knew a particular circumstance or thing. 
Such a statement can only be accepted as evidence that he 
does not recall the fact stated. 

Thirdly, the law of suggestion is an important factor which 
must be considered in the solution of the mystery. It is 
obvious that when two subjective intelligences are in com- 
munication, and each is dominated by the suggestions of 
spiritism, and one is anxious to convince the objective in- 
telligence of the other of the reality of spirit intercourse, 
and the other is anxious to be convinced and is seeking for 
a test case, the best tests within the combined resources of 
the two intelligences are more than likely to be forthcoming. 
This is certainly borne out by the experience of every intel- 
ligent investigator of the phenomena of spiritism. I should 
not consider myself justified in supposing a subjective con- 
spiracy to be possible, even under the inexorable law of 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 75 

suggestion, if a case of spirit identity had ever been made 
that was free from the doubts thrust upon us by the known 
laws of telepathy and suggestion. 

Thus far I have said nothing the essential features of 
which scientific investigators of the phenomena of spiritism 
will not indorse. Indeed, I believe that intelligent spiritists 
very generally concede that phenomena of the character 
outlined in the foregoing remarks are not free from doubt ; 
and they are ready to accept substantially the explanation 
here given. I now approach a branch of the subject, how- 
ever, about which the most scientific investigators of the 
phenomena are at variance. It has been, and is now, my 
desire and purpose to avoid controversial argument on these 
topics; but I feel impelled by my very respect for two 
gentlemen who have arrived at slightly different conclusions 
from mine, to place my views alongside of theirs, so to speak, 
in order to allow our readers to judge which presents the 
better reason for the faith that is in him. I do so for the 
further reason that my desire to do exact justice to the 
cause of spiritism impels me to state the position of two of 
its ablest champions with whose views I am acquainted. 
They are gentlemen whose reputation for learning and scien- 
tific attainments and for candor and transparent honesty of 
purpose is as wide as civilization, and places them at the 
head of the list of scientific champions of the cause of 
spiritism. It is almost superfluous to now say that I refer 
to Rev. Minot J. Savage, of Boston, and F. W. H. Myers, 
of London. Neither of them needs any introduction to 
the English-speaking world. To Mr. Myers the world owes 
more than it can ever repay for his indefatigable and purely 
scientific labors as Secretary of the London Society for 
Psychical Research. To Mr. Savage the world owes much 
for his championship of free thought, and of progress in 
every field of human endeavor. 

If I understand the views of Mr. Savage and Mr. Myers, 



J6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

they agree in their interpretation of such phenomena as I 
have outlined, and each would offer substantially the same 
explanation that I have suggested. But at this point our 
paths diverge. Each of those gentlemen is willing to admit 
that when a psychic transmits a message to his client con- 
taining information which is in his (the psychic's) posses- 
sion, it cannot reasonably be attributed to the agency of 
disembodied spirits. Each is also willing to admit that 
when the message contains facts known to some one in 
his immediate presence and with whom he is en rapport, 
the agency of spirits of the dead cannot be presumed. 
Each will doubtless admit that sub-conscious memory may 
enter as a factor in the case, and that the sub-conscious 
intelligence — or, to use the favorite terminology employed 
by Mr. Myers to designate the subjective mind, the 
" subliminal consciousness " — of the psychic or that of his 
client may retain and use facts which the conscious, or 
objective, mind may have entirely forgotten. All these 
considerations, and many others, have doubtless entered 
into the calculations of both those gentlemen when esti- 
mating, in their careful and severely scientific way, the 
weight of evidence for and against the hypothesis of spirit 
intercourse. But here is where they pause. They are not 
willing to admit that telepathy can possibly enter as a 
factor in the case when the message contains facts not 
known either to the psychic or his client or any of the 
psychic's friends. I will now let Mr. Savage speak for 
himself. In an able address * delivered before the American 
Psychical Society, he used the following words : — 

" In the presence of psychics I have been told things which 
I know the psychic did not know and never had known. There 
is no longer the least shadow of a doubt of that in my mind. 
But I have always said this does not go far enough, possibly 
this may mean telepathy only. Although the psychic is not a 

1 Psychical Review, vol. i. no. i. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 7*] 

clairvoyant, is not conscious of possessing any means of getting 
at the contents of my mind, yet the psychic's mind may be a 
mirror in which my thoughts and knowledge are reflected, and I 
may be getting back only what I have given. So when I have 
gone only to that extent I have felt that I have not gone far 
enough to convince me that I was dealing with a disembodied 
intelligence. But under certain conditions I have gone farther 
than that ; and it is these other cases that we are always look- 
ing for as additional proof, — these cases in which I have 
received communication concerning something which neither 
the psychic nor myself knew. There have been several cases 
not only in my own experience, but, more still, in the experi- 
ence of persons whose judgment and power of investigation I 
trust as I trust my own, in which there has been the communi- 
cation of intelligence that neither the psychic nor the sitter 
possessed nor ever did possess. I have had it in such circum- 
stances as this. I have had communication while sitting in my 
study concerning things that were taking place two hundred 
miles away. Over and over again occurrences like this have 
taken place, and I submit that my knowledge of science and 
philosophy does not give me any hint of an explanation for 
these things. It seems to me to be stretching the theory of 
telepathy and clairvoyance beyond probability to call them in 
to explain them. I do not know what to make of them except 
on the theory that some third and invisible intelligence was 
concerned." 

In a short but brilliant essay 1 entitled " Science and a 
Future Life," Mr. Myers thus sums up his own views, and 
locates the line which marks the boundary between the two 
worlds : — 

" I am further strengthened in this belief by the study of the 
automatic phenomena briefly noticed above. I observe that 
in all the varieties of automatic action — of which automatic 
writing may be taken as a prominent type — the contents of the 
messages given seem to be derived from three sources. First 
of all comes the automatist's own mind. From that the vast 
bulk of the messages are undoubtedly drawn, even when they 
refer to matters which the automatist once knew, but has en- 

1 This article is printed in a volume with several other valuable 
essays on cognate subjects by the same author. 



78 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

tirely forgotten. Whatever has gone into the mind may come 
out of the mind ; although this automatism may be the only 
way of getting at it. Secondly, there is a small percentage of 
messages apparently telepathic, — containing, that is to say, 
facts probably unknown to the automatist, but known to some 
living person in his company, or connected with him. But, 
thirdly, there is a still smaller residuum of messages which I 
cannot thus explain, — messages which contain facts apparently 
not known to the automatist nor to any living friend of his, but 
known to some deceased person, perhaps to a total stranger to 
the living man whose hand is writing. I cannot avoid the con- 
viction that in some way — however dreamlike and indirect — 
it is the departed personality which originates such messages as 
these." 

Here we have the clear and concise statements of two 
men, representatives, respectively, of the best thought, on 
that side of the question, of two hemispheres, each defining 
the same limit of scientific explanation, on mundane prin- 
ciples, of spiritistic phenomena. These gentlemen, being, 
par excellence, the representatives of scientific spiritism 
on the two sides of the Atlantic, are entitled to a full hear- 
ing and a candid and respectful consideration. Their views, 
however, as quoted above, are stated in abstract form, and 
their exact meaning may not be readily comprehended. In 
order, therefore, that the reader may have a concrete illus- 
tration of just what is meant, it will be necessary to quote 
further from their works. Fortunately for our purpose, Mr. 
Savage has issued a volume 1 recently which is filled with 
well-authenticated facts which the author of the book 
cannot explain by reference to telepathy. I select at 
random the following case, which is fairly illustrative of 
the "sticking point" in its most pronounced, not to say 
virulent, form. In order to do Mr. Savage complete 
justice, I copy the entire narrative, including his comments. 

" My next story goes far beyond any of these, and — well, 
I will ask the reader to decide as to whether there is any help 

1 Psychics : Facts and Theories. Arena Publishing Co. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 



79 



in hypnotism or clairvoyance or mind-reading, or any of the 
selves of the psychic, conscious or sub-conscious. 

" Early on Friday morning, Jan. 18, 1884, the steamer 
1 City of Columbus,' en roitte from Boston to Savannah, was 
wrecked on the rocks off Gay Head, the southwestern point of 
Martha's Vineyard. Among the passengers was an elderly 
widow, the sister-in-law of one of my friends, and the mother of 
another. 

"This lady, Mrs. K., and her sister, Mrs. B., had both been 
interested in psychic investigation, and had held sittings with a 
psychic whom I will call Mrs. E. Mrs. B. was in poor health, 
and was visited regularly for treatment on every Monday by the 
psychic, Mrs. E. On occasion of these professional visits, 
Mrs. B. and her sister, Mrs. K., would frequently have a sit- 
ting. This Mrs. E., the psychic, had been known to all the 
parties concerned for many years, and was held in the highest 
respect. She lived in a town fifteen or twenty miles from 
Boston. This, then, was the situation of affairs when the 
wreck of the steamer took place. 

"The papers of Friday evening, January 18, of course con- 
tained accounts of the disaster. On Saturday, January 19, Dr. 
K., my friend, the son of Mrs. K., hastened down to the beach 
in search of the body of his mother. No trace whatever was 
discovered. He became satisfied that she was among the lost, 
but was not able to find the body. Saturday night he returned 
to the city. Sunday passed by. On Monday morning, the 
2 1 st, Mrs. E. came from her country home to give the custom- 
ary treatment to her patient, Mrs. B. Dr. K. called on his 
aunt while Mrs. E. was there, and they decided to have a 
sitting, to see if there would come to them anything that even 
purported to be news from the missing mother and sister. 
Immediately Mrs. K. claimed to be present; and, along with 
many other matters, she told them three separate and distinct 
things which, if true, it was utterly impossible for either of them 
to have known. 

" 1. She told them that, after the steamer had sailed, she 
had been able to exchange her inside stateroom for an outside 
one. All that any of them knew was that she had been 
obliged to take an inside room, and that she did not want it. 

" 2. She told them that she played whist with some friends 
in the steamer saloon during the evening ; and she further told 
them the names of the ones who had made up the table. 

" 3. Then came the startling and utterly unexpected state- 



8o A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

ment, ' I do not want you to think of me as having been 
drowned. I was not drowned. When the alarm came, I 
was in my berth. Being frightened, I jumped up, and rushed 
out of the stateroom. In the passage-way I was suddenly 
struck a blow on my head, and instantly it was over. So do 
not think of me as having gone through the process of drown- 
ing.' Then she went on to speak of the friends she had 
found, and who were with her. This latter, of course, could 
not be verified. But the other things could be. It was learned, 
through survivors, that the matter of the stateroom and the 
whist, even to the partners, was precisely as had been stated. 
But how to verify the other statement, particularly as the body 
had not been discovered ? 

"All this was on Monday, the 21st. On Tuesday, the 22d, 
the doctor and a friend went again to the beach. After a pro- 
longed search among the bodies that had been recovered, they 
were able to identify that of the mother. And they found the 
right side of the head all crushed in by a blow. 

" The impression made on the doctor, at the sitting on 
Monday, was that he had been talking with his mother. The 
psychic, Mrs. E., is not a clairvoyant, and there were many 
things connected with the sitting that made the strong impres- 
sion of the mother's present personality. In order to have ob- 
tained all these facts related under numbers 1, 2, and 3, the 
psychic would have had to be not only clairvoyant, but to have 
gotten into mental relations with several different people at the 
same time. The reading of several different minds at once, 
and also clairvoyant seeing, not only of the bruised head, but 
of the facts that took place on the Friday previous (this being 
Monday), — all these multiplex and diverse operations, going on 
simultaneously, make up a problem that the most ardent advo- 
cate of telepathy, as a solvent of psychic facts, would hardly 
regard as reasonably coming within its scope. 

" Let us look at it clearly. Telepathy deals only with occur- 
rences taking place at the time. I do not know of a case where 
clairvoyance is even claimed to see what were once facts, but 
which no longer exist. Then there must have been simulta- 
neous communication with several minds. This, I think, is not 
even claimed as possible by anybody. Then let it be remem- 
bered that Mrs. E. is not conscious of possessing either tele- 
pathic or clairvoyant power. Such is the problem. 

" I express no opinion of my own. I only say that the 
doctor, my friend, is an educated, level-headed, noble man. He 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 8 1 

felt sure that he detected undoubted tokens of his mother's 
presence. If such a thing is ever possible, surely this is the 
explanation most simple and natural." 

Here, then, we have a case involving all the difficulties 
which stand in the way of accepting telepathy as a universal 
solvent for this class of mysteries. It is a representative 
case of the class specifically mentioned both by Mr. Savage 
and by Mr. Myers as being inexplicable by reference to 
telepathy \ for the message contained information not in the 
possession of the psychic, or of the client, or of any of the 
living friends of either. Consequently, if this case can be 
explained by reference to telepathy, clearly science will have 
a right to demand further proofs of spirit communion. 

" Let us look at it clearly." In order to do so we must 
first divest the case of several imaginary difficulties with 
which Mr. Savage seems to have environed it. For 
instance, he says that — 

" In order to have obtained all these facts related under 
numbers i, 2, and 3, the psychic would have had to be not 
only clairvoyant, but to have gotten into mental relations with 
several different people at the same ti?ne" 

It is not entirely clear why it was necessary for " all 
these multiplex and diverse operations" to be " going on 
simultaneously," or, indeed, why it should be necessary for 
all of them to go on at all. Nor does Mr. Savage throw any 
very clear light upon that question. On the contrary, he 
seems to have propounded an irrelevant problem, which he 
regards as insoluble, with the view of claiming a triumph if 
his readers fail to solve it. 

There are two groups of facts in this case which present 
themselves for consideration. One group consists of the 
facts which took place prior to the wreck ; namely, the 
matter of the stateroom, the whist, and the partners. The 
other group comprises the particular circumstances attend- 
ing the death of the lady. 

6 



82 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Now we are told that it was necessary for the psychic to 
see clairvoyantly " not only the bruised body, but the facts 
that took place on the Friday previous." Mr. Savage holds 
the latter to be impossible for the reason that clairvoyance 
cannot " see what were once facts, but which no longer 
exist." In this proposition he is clearly right. But he 
would doubtless admit that clairvoyance is equal to the 
perception of the condition of the bruised body ; and from 
that condition the manner of death, exactly as detailed 
in the message, could be clearly inferred. After all, that is 
the only fact which we are called upon to explain, since 
the facts that took place on the Friday previous were all 
known to surviving friends of the deceased ; and the pre- 
sumption is that they were all detailed to the son, who was 
frantically searching among the survivors for information 
which would throw light upon the fate of his mother. In 
the absence of any evidence or statement to the contrary, 
even by implication, this must be presumed. Clearly, then, 
it would not be necessary for the psychic to read " several 
different minds at once " in order to ascertain all the facts 
that took place on Friday, since those facts were in the 
mind of the son, and he was in presence of the psychic. 
But suppose that the facts had not yet been detailed to the 
son, it still does not involve the necessity for the psychic 
to be "in simultaneous communication with several minds," 
since telepathic communion with any one of the survivors 
would have put her in possession of all the facts that oc- 
curred on Friday. That supposition would certainly do 
less violence to the principles of scientific inquiry than it 
does to postulate a supermundane origin for the phe- 
nomenon. 

I submit, therefore, that all the facts were easily ascer- 
tainable by the psychic by the exercise of clairvoyance and 
telepathy, each in its simplest and most direct mode of 
manifestation. The two powers, if both exist, are certainly 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 83 

not incompatible with each other. Indeed, they are so 
closely related that no one has yet been able to locate the 
boundary-line between them. They are divided only by 
their definitions. 

I think that Mr. Savage will agree with me that, in the 
foregoing view of the case, my interpretation is to be pre- 
ferred to his on the broad ground of inherent probability, 
since his explanation ascribes a supermundane origin to the 
phenomena, whilst mine ascribes it to those natural powers 
ot the human mind the existence of which he freely admits. 
Nor does it fortify his view of the case to say that the 
psychic does not possess either telepathic or clairvoyant 
power, for that is simply begging the question. The very 
point in controversy is whether the phenomena of so-called 
spiritism proceed from spirits of the dead, or are the result 
of the exercise of the known powers of the living. And to 
say, as Mr. Savage does, that the psychic " is not conscious 
of possessing either telepathic or clairvoyant power," is but 
another way of saying that this particular psychic believes 
that the messages transmitted through her come from dis- 
embodied spirits. It is a common thing among spiritistic 
psychics to disclaim telepathic or clairvoyant powers ; and 
it is doubtless honestly done. Their theory is that their 
phenomena are produced by spirits of the dead, and that 
clairvoyance and telepathy have nothing whatever to do 
with it; in other words, that they "are not conscious " of 
possessing those powers. But when that statement is 
employed as an argument in support of the spiritistic 
hypothesis, it becomes a gross and palpable case of petitio 
principii. 

Thus far I have argued this case from Mr. Savage's own 
standpoint ; that is, I have invoked the aid of those 
powers of the mind, and those only, which he knows men 
to possess, namely, telepathy and clairvoyance. I have 
shown how these alleged powers may have operated, each 



84 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

in its legitimate sphere of activity, to produce the phe- 
nomena he describes. He declares that he is in search of 
a working hypothesis which will explain these phenomena 
without the necessity of invoking supermundane agencies, 
but has thus far failed to find one. I have herein advanced 
one, the fundamental postulates of which are his. They 
are not mine. He believes in telepathy, and I agree with 
him. He believes in independent clairvoyance. I do not. 
He says that he knoius a that clairvoyance exists as a power 
of the human mind. I wish I possessed the same positive 
information. It would be a great simplifier of explanations, 
— a short cut across a labyrinthine field. Like the hypoth- 
esis of spiritism, it is " simpler " than the scientific explana- 
tion of the phenomena \ but its chief merit consists in the 
fact that it saves the trouble of thinking. I have looked in 
vain for indubitable evidence of the reality of the power of 
independent clairvoyance. I do not say that it does not 
exist. I do not know. I simply say that I have not yet 
been made acquainted with facts sufficient to remove the 
question from the domain of doubt and uncertainty. I do 
know that many phenomena which a few years ago 
were attributed to clairvoyance are now easily explicable by 
reference to telepathy; and I know that the field of the 
former is constantly narrowing, whilst that of the latter is 
correspondingly widening. I know that telepathy is a fac- 
ulty of the human mind ; and I feel safe when dealing with 
that proposition. But until the boundary-line between 
telepathy and clairvoyance is defined with sufficient exacti- 
tude to demonstrate that there is any line at all, I shall not 
attempt to offer clairvoyance as a final explanation of any 
phenomena whatever. 

Now let us examine the phenomena presented by Mr. 
Savage from another point of view. I will begin by quot- 
ing a proposition of his, which, if true, disposes of the case 

1 Psychical Review, vol. i. no. I. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 85 

at once, and leaves him master of the situation. It is 
this, — 

" Telepathy deals only with occurrences taking place at 
the time." 

If this proposition is true, Mr. Savage and Mr. Myers are 
both right in rejecting telepathy as a solvent for the mystery 
surrounding a very large class of cases. Whether it is true 
or not, it clearly defines their attitude and reveals the ground 
upon which they stand. In saying this I do not wish to be 
understood as holding Mr. Myers responsible for the opin- 
ions of Mr. Savage \ but as their conclusions are identical, 
I assume that they have reasoned from the same premises. 
I am confirmed in that belief for the reason that I can see 
no other possible ground for their conclusion. 

Be that as it may, the fact remains that the assertion 
that " telepathy deals only with occurrences taking place at 
the time " is a fundamental error of the most pronounced 
character. It is difficult to imagine an error that could be 
more misleading to the searcher after truth in the psychical 
realm, and hence more mischievous in its consequences, 
than this one is. 

Again, " let us look at it clearly." What is telepathy? 
It has already been defined as " the means of communica- 
tion between subjective minds." In other words, it is the 
means of conveying information from one subjective mind 
to another. That it is confined in its operations to the 
subjective intelligence will not be disputed. It has already 
been sufficiently explained, and requires no further remark 
in this connection, but will be demonstrated later on. Now, 
when a message is telepathically sent from one subjective 
mind to another, it conveys some item of information to 
the subjective mind that receives it. That information is 
henceforth a part of the mental equipment of the per- 
cipient's subjective mind, and, since the memory of the 
subjective mind is practically perfect, it is not likely to 



86 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

forget any important fact that may have been thus received. 
But suppose the percipient does not happen, at the time 
of the subjective reception of the message, to be in that 
peculiar mental condition required to enable him to elevate 
his subjective impressions above the threshold of his normal, 
or objective, consciousness. Is the message any the less a 
part of his subjective mental equipment? In other words, 
does a failure to become objectively conscious of the recep- 
tion of the message delivered to the sub-conscious intelli- 
gence cause the latter instantly to forget the subject-matter 
of the message? No one who is acquainted with the 
salient characteristics of the subjective intelligence, as de- 
veloped in experimental psychology, will claim that it does. 
Suppose, then, that the recipient of the message does not 
belong to that class of sensitives who are able to elevate 
their subjective impressions above the threshold of con- 
sciousness. Then, suppose that a week later the recipient 
happens to be in the presence of a mind-reader, and they 
hold a seance for the purpose of making experiments in 
telepathy. Is there any a priori reason why the telepathist 
should not be able to read that message as it exists, latent, 
in the mind of the recipient ? If not, why not ? If he can 
do so, the assumption that " telepathy deals only with occur- 
rences taking place at the time " must be revised ; and with 
its revision the whole fabric which has been so industriously 
built upon that foundation must fall. The only possible 
resource is to deny the proposition that a message received 
telepathically from one source can also be delivered by the 
same means to a third person. 

It will be necessary for us to discuss this point briefly, for 
it will eventually be seen that the whole fabric of spiritism, 
scientifically and logically considered, rests upon a tacit 
denial of this proposition. My proposition is this : — 

If A can communicate a fact telepathically to B, it follows 
that B can communicate the same fact telepathically to C. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 87 

This seems to be a self-evident proposition ; and no one, 
to my knowledge, has ventured specifically to deny its 
truth. Yet, as before intimated, if it is true, all of those dif- 
ficulties vanish which Messrs. Savage and Myers experience 
in finding a telepathic explanation for their phenomena. 

"I have had," says Mr. Savage, " communication while 
sitting in my study concerning things that were taking place 
two hundred miles away." And he declares that it seems 
to him to be " stretching the theory of telepathy and of 
clairvoyance beyond probability to call them in to explain " 
the fact. Why he thinks the explanation is outside the 
domain of clairvoyance, he does not tell us. It seems to 
me that if there is such a power as independent clairvoy- 
ance, the clairvoyant explanation is easy and perfect. But 
as I do not yet admit the genuineness of that power, I will 
try to help Mr. Savage to a telepathic explanation. He 
does not give us an account of the circumstances of his 
case ; but as it is generic, I will furnish a specimen that 
covers the ground. The following case was related to me 
by a lady now living in Washington, for whose veracity and 
exalted character I can vouch. 

Some years ago she was residing in the interior of Penn- 
sylvania. On one occasion she visited friends in Phila- 
delphia, and during her stay she was induced to call on a 
then celebrated "medium." Amongst other things the 
medium told her that one of the children of the lady's 
family had just fallen from a tree and was apparently badly 
hurt. The statement did not make much impression on 
her, for she was rather sceptical on the subject of spirit 
communication ; but when she went home she learned that 
it was literally true, and the hour corresponded very nearly 
to the time when she was at the seance. It transpired that 
the child was not badly hurt, although it was insensible 
when picked up. 

Mr. Savage would hold that it would be " stretching the 



88 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

theory of telepathy " to the breaking point to call it in to 
explain this case. Why? Is it not probable that the lady 
was in telepathic rapport with her family at home ? And 
would it be stretching the theory of telepathy too far to 
suppose that she would be informed by that means of the 
disaster happening to one of her family? I think not. But 
the lady was not a psychic, and the message, consequently, 
remained below the threshold of her normal consciousness. 
The " medium," however, was able to read her mind, and 
he found the fact recorded there as stated. 

In a work comprising two large volumes, entitled " Phan- 
tasms of the Living," of which Mr. Myers is one of the 
authors, there are hundreds of cases recorded where tele- 
pathic messages were received informing the percipient of 
danger or disaster to loved ones at a distance. Mr. Myers 
and Mr. Savage will both agree that it would be in perfect 
accordance with the experience of mankind to suppose that 
the lady was telepathically informed of the accident. They 
will both agree that the message might have been received 
subjectively, and yet not brought within the domain of her 
normal consciousness ; for that is also in strict accordance 
with the known facts of telepathy. Thus far we all travel 
along together very comfortably and harmoniously. But 
when the psychic imparts the information to the lady, the 
crucial question at once arises, " How did he obtain it? " 

Here are the two hypotheses : — 

Mine is that he read the mind of the lady; in other 
words, he obtained telepathically the information that 
Messrs. Savage and Myers will both admit was, or might 
be, legitimately in her possession through telepathic agency. 

Their theory is that the spirit of some dead man was 
watching the child when it fell, and that he hastened to 
Philadelphia to hunt up a " medium " of communication 
between himself and the lady, so that he could tell her all 
about it. By a happy coincidence he found the lady and a 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 89 

suitable " medium" already in consultation, looking for a 
test case upon which to postulate a theory of immortality. 
And it was forthcoming. According to Messrs. Savage and 
Myers, it was the crucial test, — demonstrative of spirit 
intercourse. 

If my hypothesis " stretches the theory of telepathy " too 
far, and if evidence of immortal life consists in the adoption 
of their theory of explanation, well may we exclaim, — 

" On what a slender thread 
Hang everlasting things ! " 

I ask the intelligent, unprejudiced reader to judge for 
himself which of the two explanations is more likely to be 
correct. To this end he must ask himself whether it is 
more rational to suppose that the lady obtained a telepathic 
message from home and transmitted the same to the psychic, 
than it is to suppose that it required the intervention of a 
supermundane agency to convey the information. 

In answering this question the logical and scientific axiom 
must not be lost sight of, — that we have neither occasion 
nor logical right to seek a supermundane explanation of a 
phenomenon, when it is explicable by reference to natural 
laws with which the world is acquainted. 

On this point the truly scientific reader will doubtless 
prefer to stand with Mr. Podmore, one of the Secretaries of 
the Society for Psychical Research, who says : " When the 
choice of explanation seems to lie between telepathy and 
some faculty even more dubious and more remote from 
ordinary analogies, it is right that the hypothesis of telep- 
athy should be strained — if necessary, to the breaking 
point — before we invoke a stage-deity to cut the knot." x 

1 Apparitions and Thought-Transference, pp. 369, 370. 



CHAPTER V. 

spiritistic phenomena (continued}. 

Experimental Telepathy. — Deferred Percipience. — Cases in Point. 

— Planchette. — Latency of Telepathic Impressions. — Nebuchad- 
nezzar's Dream. — Daniel's Telepathic Power. — Final Explana- 
tion of Mr. Savage's Test Case. — The Mother's Message to her 
Son. — The Son's Message to the Psychic. — The Last Resource 
of Spiritism. — Mr. Savage's Crucial Question. — The Unsciem 
tific Attitude of Spiritists. — Thunder considered as the Voice of 
an Angry God. — The Simplicity of Nature's Laws. — The Alleged 
" Simplicity " of the Spiritistic Hypothesis. — It saves Thinking. 

— Reasoning in a Circle. — Why cannot Spirits communicate 
with the Living ? — Not a Pertinent Question. — The Real Ques- 
tion is, Do they so Communicate ? — The Evidence is against the 
Spiritistic Hypothesis. — " Spirits of Health and Goblins Damned." 



T HAVE thus far examined Mr. Savage's test case from a 
* theoretical standpoint. My theories, however, have all 
been based upon the well-known facts of experimental psy- 
chology, except where I have argued from a provisional 
assumption of the reality of the power of independent clair- 
voyance. I now approach the domain of ascertained facts. 
My text is still his declaration that " telepathy deals only 
with occurrences taking place at the time." * If it had 
been stated that " telepathy deals only with occurrences 
taking place at the time of the delivery of a message con- 
cerning them to the subjective mind of the party for whom 
it is intended," it would have been much nearer the truth, 
but would still have been far from accurate, as will be seen 
hereafter. Thus limited, however, it could not have been 

1 M. J. Savage in " Psychics : Facts and Theories." 






DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 91 

pressed into the service of spiritism ; and we must, there* 
fore, presume that the words were intended and used in 
their full significance. In other words, the fate of the argu- 
ment must depend upon the correctness of the premises as 
they are formulated. 

In making this statement some very important facts set 
forth in " Phantasms of the Living," must have been for- 
gotten for the moment, or else the article from which quota- 
tion was made was written before the publication of that 
voluminous record of telepathic experiences. 

Be that as it may, one very important feature of the 
phenomena of telepathy has certainly been ignored. It is 
a feature, too, of the first importance, for, without including 
it as a factor in any given case, one is more than likely to 
be led into the most grievous errors. I refer to the phe- 
nomenon of "deferred percipience." The meaning of the 
term is thus explained by Mr. Myers in his learned and 
able introduction to " Phantasms of the Living " : " We find 
in the case of phantasms corresponding to some accident or 
crisis which befalls a living friend, that there seems often to 
be a latent period before the phantasm becomes definite or 
externalized to the percipient's eye or ear. Sometimes a 
vague malaise seems first to be generated, and then when 
other stimuli are deadened, — as at night or in some period 
of repose, — the indefinite grief or uneasiness takes shape 
in the voice or figure of the friend who in fact passed 
through his moment of peril some hours before.' ' He then 
goes on to say that " it is quite possible that a deferment 
of this kind may sometimes intervene between the moment 
of death and the phantasmal announcement thereof to a 
distant friend. ,, 

This is a very general, though a very accurate, statement 
of a principle which will presently be seen to be a corollary 
of the doctrine of duality of mind and of sub-conscious 
intelligence. 



92 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

A person in imminent and deadly peril telepathies lly 
conveys a message to his nearest friend or relative, inform- 
ing him of the occurrence. This may be done by means 
of a vision or by clairaudience, or otherwise ; but it must 
necessarily be done by some means that addresses itself to 
the sensory experience of the percipient. It is a message 
from the subjective mind of the "agent" to that of the 
" percipient." If the percipient is a psychic, he will prob- 
ably perceive the import of the message at once. If he is 
not a psychic, or is not easily thrown into the psychical or 
subjective condition, he may not be able for hours to ele- 
vate the message above the threshold of his own conscious- 
ness. If he is incapable (as most people are) of becoming 
objectively conscious of what is going on in his subjective 
mind, he may never be able to become normally conscious 
of the message that is lying "latent" in his "subliminal 
consciousness." Nevertheless the information is there, 
although he may not, as before remarked, be conscious of 
it at the time of its reception. It may remain latent for a 
week or a month ; or he may never be able to take objec- 
tive cognizance of it unaided by some one more sensitive to 
subjective impressions. 

It must be remembered that telepathy is one of those 
psychic powers that is seldom, if ever, acquired by persons 
who are in a normal state of physical health. Let me not 
be misunderstood on this point. When we speak of one 
possessing telepathic power, we usually mean, simply, that 
he is one who is capable of taking objective cognizance, or 
becoming objectively conscious, of the messages received by 
his subjective mind. In other words, he is one who is 
capable of elevating the impressions of his sub-conscious 
intelligence above the threshold of his normal or objective 
consciousness. The fact that he is unable to do this is no 
evidence that he is incapable of receiving subjective im- 
pressions, or that he does not receive telepathic messages. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 93 

Indeed, the facts show that there is practically little differ- 
ence, other things being equal, in the capacity of persons 
of average intelligence for receiving telepathic communica- 
tions. The difference consists, not in the ability to receive, 
but in the ability to perceive, or to become objectively con- 
scious, of what has been received. And the latter power 
usually finds its origin in an abnormal physical condition, 
ranging in intensity from that of an incipient neurosis to 
the terrible affliction endured by the Seeress of Prevorst, — 
the power and the physical abnormality nearly always sus- 
taining perfectly harmonious proportional relations. 

It follows that a perfectly normal, healthy man is seldom 
able to assimilate the full content of a telepathic message. 
It reaches his consciousness, if at all, only in the form of a 
vague impression, creating a transient feeling of unrest or 
foreboding, but which is soon submerged or thrown off by 
his superabundant vitality. Few are entirely exempt from 
such impressions, and they vary in intensity in proportion 
to their importance to the individual. But the fact that 
one is not able to take objective cognizance of their full 
import does not prove that the information, in all its 
details, is not indelibly stamped upon the tablets of the 
soul. From this postulate it follows that the work of a 
trained psychic, capable of reading the minds of his sit- 
ters, is all that is necessary to reveal the full content of 
a telepathic message latent in the subjective mind of his 
client. 

The foregoing propositions seem almost self-evident to 
the merest tyro in psychic science ; but as Mr. Myers and 
his colleagues, Messrs. Gurney and Podmore, have taken 
pains not only clearly to define "deferred percipience " 
and note it as an important factor in telepathy, but to 
demonstrate it experimentally and print accounts of its 
illustrative cases occurring spontaneously, it becomes our 
duty to present a few of the most prominent of those facts 



94 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

recorded by them, to the end that a most important factor 
in telepathy may not be in danger of being overlooked. 

The first case to which I invite attention was experi- 
mental. The facts seem trivial ; but, as they illustrate an 
important principle, space cannot be refused for their 
reproduction. The author introduces the experiment by 
the following prefatory remarks : — 

" I will quote one more taste-series, for the sake of illustrating 
a special point, — namely, the deferment of the percipient's con- 
sciousness of the sensation until a time when the agent had 
himself ceased to feel it. This fact is of great interest, on 
account of the marked analogy to it which we shall encounter 
in many of the spontaneous telepathic cases. 

"June nth, 1885. 

" Dr. Hyla Greves was in contact with Miss Relph, having 
tasted salad oil. 

" Miss Relph said : * I feel a cool sensation in my mouth, 
something like that produced by sal prunelle.' 

" Mr. R. C. Johnson in contact, having tasted Worcestershire 
sauce in another room. 

" ' I taste something oily ; it is very like salad oil.' Then a 
few minutes after contact with Mr. Johnson had ceased, 4 My 
mouth seems getting hot after the oil.' (N. B. Nothing at all 
had been said about the substances tasted either by Dr. Greves 
or Mr. Johnson.) 

" Dr. Greves in contact, having tasted bitter aloes. 

" ' I taste something frightfully hot . . . something like vine- 
gar and pepper. ... Is it Worcestershire sauce ? ' 

" Mr. Guthrie in contact, also having tasted bitter aloes. 

" ' I taste something extremely bitter, but don't know what 
it is, and do not remember tasting it before. ... It is a very 
horrid taste.' " 1 

The next experimental case is also seemingly trivial, but 
is important as an illustration of deferred percipience. 
This experiment was one of a series made by Rev. P. H. 
Newnham, Vicar of Maker, Devonport, England, his wife 
being the mind-reader. The questions were written down 

1 Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. p. 56. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 95 

by Mr. Newnham, the wife knowing nothing of their char- 
acter ; and the answers were written out by her by means 
of planchette : — 

" ' What name shall we give to our new dog ? ' 

" A. ' Yesterday was not a fair trial.' 

" ' Why was not yesterday a fair trial ? ' 

"A. 'Dog.' 

" And again : — 

" « What do I mean by chaffing C. about a lilac tree ? ' 

" A. 'Temper and imagination/ 

" ' You are thinking of somebody else. Please reply to my 
question.' 

"A. 'Lilacs.' 

" Here a single image or word seems to have made its mark 
on the percipient's mind, without calling any originative activity 
into play; and we thus get the naked reproduction. In these 
last examples we again notice the feature of deferred impression. 
The influence only gradually became effective, the immediate 
answer being irrelevant to the question. We may suppose, 
therefore, that the first effect took place below the threshold of 
consciousness." 1 

To these remarks is added a footnote, as follows : — 

" The following case, though not strictly experimental, is 
sufficiently in point to be worth quoting. Though unfortu- 
nately not recorded in writing at the time, it was described 
within a few days of its occurrence to Mr. Podmore, who is 
acquainted with all the persons concerned. The narrator is 
Miss Robertson, of 229 Marylebone Road, W. 

" About three years ago I was speaking of planchette-writing 
to some of my friends, when a young lady, a daughter of the 
house where I was spending the evening, mentioned that she 
had played with planchette at school, and that it had always 
written for her. Thereupon I asked her to spend the evening 
with me, and try it again, which she agreed to do. On the 
morning of the day on which she had arranged to come to me, 
her brother, on leaving the house, said, laughing, ' Well, Edith, 
it is all humbug ; but if planchette tells you the name and sum 
of money which are on a check which I have in my pocket, and 
which I am going to cash for mother, I will believe there is 

1 Op. cit, pp. 70, 71. 



96 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

something in it. 5 Edith, on her arrival at my house in the 
evening, told me of this, and I said, ' We must not expect that ; 
planchette never does what one wants,' or words to that effect. 
A couple of hours after, we tried the planchette, Edith's hand 
alone touching it. It almost immediately wrote, quite clearly, — 

'I. SPALDING, £6 13. 4.' 

I had forgotten about the check, and I said, 'What can that 
mean?' Upon which Edith replied, ' It is H.'s check.' I was 
incredulous, having a long acquaintance with planchette. I 
said, ' If it is right, send me word directly you get home. I am 
sure it will not be.' But the next day I received a letter from 
Edith, telling me that she had astonished her brother greatly by 
telling him the name and amount on the check, which was per- 
fectly correct. I have read this account to the young lady and 
her brother, who sign it as well as myself. 

1 Nora Robertson. 

<E. C. 

1 D. C. H. C 

"In answer to an inquiry, Miss Robertson adds, on Feb. 12, 
1885: — 

" ' Miss E. C. says, in answer to your question, that she is 
quite certain she could not have known or surmised the name 
and amount of the check. 

" ' I can confirm her on the first point, for I remember ques- 
tioning everybody all round at the time. She had just returned 
from school, and knew nothing at all about her mother's busi- 
ness or money matters.' 

" Here, it will be observed, the impression seems not only to 
have been unconscious, but to have remained latent for several 
hours before taking effect; for it is, at any rate, the most natu- 
ral supposition that the transference actually occurred at the 
time when the conversation on the subject took place between 
the brother and sister." 

The intelligent reader will not fail to notice that the 
foregoing is not only illustrative of deferred percipience, 
but is representative of a very large class of cases where 
the message never reaches the normal consciousness of the 
percipient except through extraneous means. In this case 
it was by planchette, in the hands of the percipient; but 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 97 

does any one suppose that if some one else had operated 
the instrument, who was also a good telepathist and en 
rapport with Edith, the same result would not have been 
produced? For instance, suppose Miss Robertson had 
been thus endowed, would it have been necessary to at- 
tribute the phenomenon to supermundane agency if she 
had succeeded in reading in Edith's subjective mind what 
was obviously there, namely, the details regarding the 
check? Certainly not. And yet that would have been 
a case exactly such as Messrs. Savage and Myers have 
declared unaccountable except under the hypothesis of 
spirit communion. 

The next case of deferred percipience recorded in " Phan- 
tasms of the Living" was related by the percipient, Mr. 
Frederick Wingfleld, of France. The essential part of the 
narrative is the following : — 

"'On the night of Thursday, the 25th of March, 1880, I 
retired to bed after reading till late, as is my habit. I dreamed 
that I was lying on my sofa reading, when, on looking up, I 
saw distinctly the figure of my brother, Richard Wingfield- 
Baker, sitting on the chair before me. I dreamed that I spoke 
to him, but that he simply bent his head in reply, rose, and left 
the room. When I awoke, I found myself standing with one 
foot on the ground by my bedside, and the other on the bed, 
trying to speak and to pronounce my brother's name. So 
strong was the impression as to the reality of his presence, and 
so vivid the whole scene as dreamt, that I left my bedroom to 
search for my brother in the sitting-room. I examined the 
chair where I had seen him seated, I returned to bed, tried to 
fall asleep in the hope of a repetition of the appearance ; but 
my mind was too excited, too painfully disturbed, as I recalled 
what I had dreamed. I must have, however, fallen asleep 
towards the morning ; but when I awoke, the impression of my 
dream was as vivid as ever, — and I may add is to this very 
hour equally strong and clear. My sense of impending evil 
was so strong that I at once made a note in my memorandum 
book of this " appearance," and added the words " God forbid." 

" ' Three days afterwards I received the news that my brother, 
Richard Wingfield-Baker, had died on Thursday evening, the 

7 



98 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

25th of March, 1880, at 8.30 p. m., from the effects of the ter- 
rible injuries received in a fall while hunting with the Black- 
more Vale hounds.' " l 

Following this case, and the corroborative evidence 
verifying it, may be found the following very sensible and 
judicious remarks : — 

" It will be seen here that the impression followed the death 
by a few hours, — a feature which will frequently recur. [The 
italics are mine.] The fact, of course, slightly detracts from 
the evidential force of a case, as compared with the completely 
simultaneous coincidences ; inasmuch as the odds against the 
accidental occurrence of a unique impression of some one's 
presence within a few hours of his death, enormous as they are, 
are less enormous than the odds against a similar accidental 
occurrence within five minutes of the death. But the deferment 
of the impression, though to this slight extent affecting a case 
as an item of telepathic evidence, is not in itself any obstacle to 
the telepathic explanation. We may recall that in some of the 
experi?nental cases the impression was never a piece of conscious 
experience at all; while in others the latency and gradual 
emergence of the idea was a very noticeable feature. This 
justifies us in presuming that an impression which ultimately 
takes a sensory form may fail in the first instance to reach the 
threshold of attention. It may be unable to compete, at the 
moment, with the vivid sensory impressions, and the crowd of 
ideas and images, that belong to normal seasons of waking life ; 
and it may thus remain latent till darkness and quiet give a 
chance for its development. This view seems, at any rate, sup- 
ported by the fact that it is usually at night that the delayed 
impression — if such it be — emerges into the percipient's con- 
sciousness. It is supported also by analogies which recognized 
psychology supplies. I may refer to the extraordinary exalta- 
tion of memory sometimes observed in hypnotic and hystero- 
epileptic ' subjects ; ' or even to the vivid revival, in ordinary 
dreaming, of impressions which have hardly affected the wak- 
ing consciousness." 

The next and last case for which room can be made is 
from a narrative related by a Mrs. Montgomery to the 
author of "Phantasms of the Living " : — 

1 Op. tit, p. 199. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 99 

" February, 1884. 

" « Nearly thirty years ago I lost a sister. The place where 
she died being at some distance, my husband went to the 
funeral without me. I went to bed early, and had a frightful 
dream of the funeral ceremony. I saw my brother faint away 
at the service, and fall into the grave. I awoke with the horror 
of the dream, just as my husband entered the room on his return 
from the funeral, which had taken place at least eight hours 
before. I asked him to tell me if anything unusual had hap- 
pened, as I had had a terrible dream, and I related it. He 
said, k Who in the world told you that ? I never intended tell- 
ing you.' I said, ; I only dreamt it. Just as you were coming 
in, I awoke.' " l 

To this the author appends the following remarks : — 

" Here the picture transferred to the percipient's dream was 
a precise and detailed one. It was of a sort which might at 
first seem more fitly to belong to a later class, where something 
of the nature of clairvoyance is suggested. Nor would the eight 
hours' interval betweeii the event and the dream be an objection 
to this view j for I have already mentioned that the deferment 
or latency of telepathic impressions is especially frequent in 
drea7n and ' ' borderland" cases, as though the idea or image had 
been unable to compete with the vivid sensations which ex- 
ternal realities force on the mind, and only got its chance of 
emerging into consciousness when the senses were closed to 
these contending influences. But seeing that at the moment of 
Mrs. Montgomery's dream her husband was just about to enter 
her room, with the shock of the burial scene probably fresh in 
his mind, it is at any rate conceivable that he then, and not the 
brother at the earlier time, transmitted the impression." 

It may be here remarked that, if the author's interpreta- 
tion of this occurrence is the true one, it demonstrates not 
only that Mr. Savage's postulate, that " telepathy deals only 
with occurrences taking place at the time," is conspicuously 
inexact, but that the person whom the occurrence most 
concerns is not necessarily the agent who transmits the 
intelligence. 

1 Op. cit., pp. 328, 329. 



100 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Even a clergyman may be prepared to relegate the 
second chapter of Daniel to the domain of romance ; but 
the story is highly probable, as well as illustrative of the 
phenomenon of deferred percipience. Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream was strongly impressed upon his mind as being very 
important, yet he was not able to recall it to his objective 
mind. He demanded its recall by the Magi of all classes, 
and upon their failure to do so he decreed their death. 
Daniel and his three friends were included in the despotic 
decree. The four met and prayed over it, death staring 
them in the face. Prayer and the imminence of death put 
them in the best possible subjective condition, and when 
this was supplemented by sleep Daniel was in telepathic 
communication with the king, and, after the dream was at 
least twenty-four hours old, read it from the king's mind, 
which was its sole repository. The dream and the percipi- 
ence were not concurrent, yet a clearer case of telepathy is 
nowhere stated. 

I have now presented an outline of the most important 
factors in telepathy that seem to have been ignored by both 
Mr. Myers and Mr. Savage, and it remains to apply them to 
the case under consideration. The reader will readily 
recall the salient features of Mr. Savage's test case as given 
in full in Chapter III. The one fact necessary to account 
for, or, rather, the one problem necessary to solve, is, how 
could the details concerning the manner of the lady's death 
have been transmitted telepathically to the psychic who 
first informed the living that the victim was not drowned, 
but had been killed by a blow on the head ? 

It seems to me that there are two solutions of the prob- 
lem, either one of which is adequate. 

The first and most obvious one, in view of the facts per- 
taining to the phenomenon of " deferred percipience " 
which have just been detailed, is this : It will be remem- 
bered that the victim of the tragedy, " Mrs. K., and her 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. IOI 

sister, Mrs. B., had both been interested in psychic investi- 
gation, and had held sittings with the psychic," Mrs. E., 
the one who subsequently revealed the details of the 
tragedy at a sitting in presence of the son and the sister of the 
deceased. It will also be remembered that (again quoting 
the language of Mr. Savage) " this Mrs. E., the psychic, 
had been known to all the parties concerned for many 
years, and was held in the highest respect." It is also 
stated in the same paragraph that the psychic visited 
Mrs. B. regularly every Monday, and that on the occasion 
of these visits the three ladies " would frequently have a 
sitting." 

Here, then, was the situation. The psychic and the 
deceased had not only been on the most intimate and 
friendly terms for many years, but they " frequently had a 
sitting" for " psychic investigation." Could a state of 
affairs be imagined that would make it more probable that 
the deceased would telepathically inform the psychic of the 
great crisis through which she was passing? Could con- 
ditions be imagined more favorable to the successful trans- 
mission of a telepathic message to a psychic ? Surely not. 
But it appears that the psychic did not become cognizant 
of the facts until the sitting on Monday. It is superfluous 
to say that it was simply a case of " deferred percipience." 
The psychic did not happen to be in the subjective con- 
dition until the Monday's sitting, and consequently was not 
able to elevate the message above the threshold of her 
consciousness. 

Could anything be more obviously within the recognized 
domain of telepathy? Yet here is a case where telepathy 
was dealing "with occurrences" not " taking place at the 
time." Here is a " communication of intelligence that 
neither the psychic nor the sitter possessed, nor ever did 
possess." 

I am not yet through with the telepathic explanations of 



102 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

this case, but have reserved the better one for the last. It 
may not be better for this particular case, but it will cover 
a larger number of other cases coming under the test 
conditions prescribed than the one just given. For the 
first explanation will not cover cases where the "agent" is 
not presumably in telepathic rapport with the psychic, — a 
condition obviously existent in this case. The solution I 
am now about to advance will not only cover this case, but 
will explain all that I have ever seen, heard, or read of, 
coming under the test formulas I have so often quoted. 

The reader will have already anticipated me when I say 
that the most obviously natural thing imaginable was for the 
dying mother to send a telepathic message to her son, 
informing him of all the sad details of her death, possibly 
including the incidents of the Friday previous; although 
we are not bound to include the latter, for the reason that 
they could have been obtained from the survivors. The 
son was not a psychic, and consequently could not readily 
become conscious of the content of the subjective message. 
It was therefore necessarily a case of " deferred percipi- 
ence," and he might never have become objectively con- 
scious of the information which he subjectively possessed 
had he not consulted a psychic who could read his mind. 
He had that information latent in his subjective mind, and 
it was necessarily an open book to the psychic. If not, 
why not? As I have before remarked, the only possible 
alternative is to deny the proposition that information 
obtained telepathic ally can be transmitted telepathic ally. 
Again I ask, If not, why not ? 

Here, then, is the issue clearly defined, reduced to its 
lowest terms, and divested of all extraneous, irrelevant side 
issues. It is "the last ditch" of spiritism considered as a 
scientific question. 

The proposition is that — 

If A can communicate a fact by means of telepathy to B, 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. IO3 

it follows that B can communicate the same fact by the 
sa??ie means to C. 

To admit this proposition to be true is to yield the last 
stronghold of spiritism. 

To deny it is equivalent to affirming that telepathy can 
be employed only to convey information received by some 
other means. 

Is there any reason to suppose that telepathy is so re- 
stricted in its field of operations? Why should it be 
restricted to any two individuals in a group of three or 
more ? As well might one say that the power of gravity is 
restricted to two of the heavenly bodies, and that because 
it operates between the sun and the earth it cannot operate 
between the sun and any other planet. As well might one 
assume that the moon does not shine upon the earth, since 
it is known that the moon derives its light from the sun. 

The logical consequences of these two suppositions 
would be no more disastrous to the planetary universe than 
it is to the mental world to suppose that B cannot telepath 
to C because A can telepath to B. In the one case it leads 
to planetary chaos ; in the other it leads directly and inev- 
itably into the dark and dismal realm of superstition. 

Knowledge of a fact obtained by means of telepathy is 
just as much a part of the recipient's stock of subjective 
information as knowledge of the same fact obtained in any 
other way. This being true, it is a corollary that the knowl- 
edge of that fact can be telepathically communicated to 
another person without reference to the method by which, 
or to the source from which, it was received. 

The last resource of spiritism is to deny the truth of this 
proposition. Well may spiritists hesitate to admit its truth ; 
for it is evident to them, as it is to every logical mind, that 
when once it is admitted that information telepathically 
received from one person can be telepathically communi- 
cated to another, it involves the admission that the same 



104 A SCIEXTIFIC DEM0XSTRATI0X 

information may be transmitted by the same means to still 
another, and so on, ad infinitum. It is as obvious to them 
as it is to others, therefore, that, when once the admission 
is made, there exists a ready means of accounting for every 
conceivable case of alleged spirit communication. 

Let us put the issue in another form : Let us suppose 
that A has recently died. His mother, B, is not a psychic, 
and knows nothing, objectively, of the death of her son, 
but happens soon after to consult a " medium," C, who 
knows, objectively, nothing of either A or B. Then sup- 
pose that C informs B that A is dead, adding particulars, 
which, if true, demonstrate positive knowledge ; and it is 
subsequently found that the information is accurate. 

Now, one of the two following conclusions must neces- 
sarily be the true one : — 

i. The first is that A, while he was yet living, telepath- 
ically communicated the facts to his mother, B, and she, 
unconsciously receiving the message, telepathically commu- 
nicated it to C. 

2. The second is that the spirit of the dead A commu- 
nicated the facts directly to C. 

Admitting telepathy to be a power of the human mind, 
and admitting the phenomenon of " deferred percipience," 
the great question is, which of the foregoing explanations 
must science accept as the true one ? 

This is the " crucial " 1 question of Mr. Savage. Here is 
his " Rubicon " 2 which marks the boundary between the 
two worlds. Unlike the historical Rubicon, upon the banks 
of which Imperial Caesar paused, it is both wide and deep ; 
but they find a parallel only in the tremendous responsibili- 
ties assumed in venturing to cross. 

The supposed case is identical with the " residuary phe- 
nomena " which Mr. Myers and Mr. Savage agree in attrib- 
uting to spirits of the dead. I protest that I am unable to 
1 Psychics : Facts and Theories, p. 148. 2 Ibid., p. 149. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 105 

follow them. I do not know of any rule of logic or science- 
which will warrant me in attributing to supermundane 
agency any phenomenon which can be explained by refer- 
ence to known principles of natural law. Nor do I know 
of any rule which would warrant me in presuming a super- 
mundane cause for a phenomenon when even cognate phe- 
nomena are explicable under principles of natural law. 

Let us for a moment contemplate the " scientific " atti- 
tude which these gentlemen have assumed. 

It is elementary to say that no hypothesis can be true 
unless it is capable of explaining all the phenomena per- 
taining to the subject-matter. In other words, if one single 
pertinent fact is inexplicable under an hypothesis, that 
hypothesis is necessarily wrong. Yet these gentlemen are 
attempting to base an hypothesis upon a " small residuum " 
of phenomena, whilst admitting that the " vast bulk " of 
cognate phenomena are explicable under well-known prin- 
ciples of natural law. 

Now, one of the primary rules of scientific investigation 
is that when a series of phenomena has been attributed to 
supermundane agency, if one of that series can be shown to 
have been produced by mundane causes, all the rest of the 
series must be presumed to have the same origin until the 
contrary is demonstrated. 

Under this rule, no true scientist or logician has a right, 
for one moment, to consider the spiritistic hypothesis as 
tenable after it has been demonstrated that one alleged 
spirit communication is the result of telepathic communion 
between the minds of living persons. Perhaps it would be 
asking too much to insist that the average advocate of 
spiritism should be governed by the letter of this harsh 
rule. But I do protest, in the name of outraged science, 
against all attempts to base an hypothesis upon a " small 
residuum" of phenomena. 

Primitive man held that thunder was the voice of an 



106 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

angry god. Science demonstrates that it is caused by elec- 
tricity passing between two clouds, or between a cloud and 
the earth. Every school-boy now knows, when he sees a 
flash of lightning, that electricity is seeking an equilibrium, 
and that he may expect to hear thunder. He knows, too, 
when he hears a peal of thunder, that a flash of lightning 
has preceded it, although he may not have observed the 
lightning. It would cause some surprise to hear a modern 
scientist, trained to habits of close observation, strict analy- 
sis, and logical classification of phenomena, who, having 
once heard a peal of thunder and failed to observe the 
flash of lightning that preceded it, — I say it would cause 
some surprise to hear such a man calmly observe that 
"thunder is divided into three classes. The first is the 
result of electricity passing between clouds ; the second is 
the result of electricity passing between the clouds and the 
earth. These comprise the ' vast bulk ' of the phenomena ; 
but there is a ( still smaller residuum ' of thunder which 
cannot be thus accounted for, and must be held to be the 
voice of an angry god." 

Yet this is precisely parallel to the attitude assumed by 
Mr. Myers in regard to alleged spirit communications. 
He divides them into three classes, and admits that the 
"vast bulk" of them can easily be explained either by 
reference to previous knowledge possessed by the psychic, 
or to that obtained by him through the medium of telepathy. 
But when he finds a case where the source of the telepathic 
message is not entirely obvious to his mind, he forgets his 
scientific training, and boldly crosses the Rubicon which 
marks the boundary between the realms of science and 
superstition. 

Again, Mr. Savage, in effect, says that " it stretches the 
theory of telepathy beyond probability," to suppose it pos- 
sible for a message received telepathically to be transmitted 
to another by the same means. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 107 

I have read somewhere of a " scientist" of a certain 
school, who said that he could very well understand that 
the apple which Newton is popularly supposed to have ob- 
served as it fell to the ground, may have been influenced 
by gravity when it performed that historic feat. He was 
also ready to admit that the earth — directly as to the 
mass and inversely as to the square of the distance — 
moved to meet the apple, as that would not require the 
earth to move very far, and consequently it was not very 
much of a concession, anyway \ but he thought it was 
stretching the theory of gravitation a little too far to sup- 
pose it to be capable of reaching out into the space and 
influencing the sun, moon, and stars. He was one of that 
numerous class who are constantly descanting upon the 
"simplicity" of Nature's laws; and yet he preferred to 
believe that each planet was held in its course by a miracle. 

He has many followers to-day who hold that it is " much 
easier, and therefore more in accordance with the simplicity 
of the operations of Nature," to attribute spiritistic phe- 
nomena directly to spirits of the dead than to attempt to 
account for them by the " complicated " theory of telepathy. 

True, it is " easier " and " simpler." It saves thinking. 
It was also easier and simpler to suppose that the earth 
was flat. It complicated matters very decidedly when it 
was discovered that it is round ; and still more when it was 
found that it is not the centre of the universe, but only an 
infinitesimal part of the stupendous whole. 

There is a constant tendency in the popular mind to 
confound simplicity of formula with simplicity of operation. 
The former is generally simple to the last degree. The 
latter is infinitely complicated. Thus, nothing could be 
simpler than the formulas expressing the three laws of 
Kepler. But what a vast and complicated system they 
represent ! A single instance will illustrate my meaning. 

Nothing could exceed in simplicity his statement that 



108 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

"the planets move in ellipses, having the sun in one focus." 
The old astronomers, ever in search of simplicity, con- 
ceived the notion that the planets must move in perfect 
circles around the sun. But Tycho Brahe's accurate obser- 
vations, seconded by Kepler's genius for generalization, 
developed the fact that the planets move in curves of the 
extremest possible complexity. This contrast between the 
simplicity of a formula and the complexity of its application 
is observable in all of Nature's operations. It is true in 
mechanics, as shown, for instance, in the formula defining 
the power of the lever. That formula is so simple that a 
child can grasp its fundamental significance ; yet in every 
complicated machine its powers are developed and utilized, 
with its various modifications, in a thousand different places 
and directions ; and in all animated Nature it is utilized in 
such an infinity of complexities as to defy analysis. This 
contrast is as true in the realm of psychology as it is else- 
where. The formulas expressive of the greatest truths are 
always simple. They can be comprehended in their funda- 
mental significance by the most ordinary intelligence ; but 
a lifetime of study will fail to discover the infinite compli- 
cations involved in their practical operations. 

Simplicity of operation, therefore, is not a test of scien- 
tific truth. That notion belongs to the primitive ages of 
scientific investigation. On the contrary, every new dis- 
covery of a natural law reveals an infinity of unexpected 
complications in the operations of the forces of Nature. 
Nor is simplicity of statement a sure criterion of truth, 
although its opposite always renders a proposition open to 
suspicion. It is obvious that an error can be formulated in 
as simple terms as a truth. 

Thus, when we are told that a psychic phenomenon is 
produced by disembodied spirits, and are gravely informed 
that this explanation is the simplest, and therefore more 
in accordance with the simplicity of Nature's laws than is a 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. IO9 

" complicated " telepathic explanation involving the exercise 
of that power by at least three individuals, the statement 
does not carry conviction to the scientific mind, " simple " 
as the explanation may be. The spiritistic explanation does 
not explain. It merely gets rid of the question by thrusting 
it outside the domain of science, outside the region of ascer- 
tained facts and the known laws of the human mind. 

This attitude is all the more remarkable in a scientist 
when we consider the fact that in abandoning the realm of 
demonstrated laws he plunges into a region of which nothing 
is definitely known, — into an hypothetical world, peopled 
by hypothetical spirits. And it is still more remarkable when 
we reflect that the only fact upon which he could possibly 
base a claim to a logical right to enter the unknown world 
for an explanation, is the very fact in dispute. He does 
not even claim to have any fact, or class of facts, upon 
which to base his hypothesis of spirit communion other 
than the very ones in controversy. His attitude, therefore, 
is this : — 

A phenomenon is to be accounted for. On the one hand, 
it is claimed that it is explicable by the well-known facts of 
telepathy. On the other hand, Messrs. Savage and Myers 
say, " No, we do not know how to explain it by telepathy. 
It must, therefore, be spirits of the dead." If asked what 
facts they have in support of the spiritistic theory, their reply 
is, "The fact that it cannot be explained by telepathy." 
How do you know that it cannot be explained by telepathy? 
" Because the phenomenon was produced by spirits." 

In other words, such scientists reason in a circle ; and 
their hypothesis is unsupported by anything save their bare, 
bald assertion that a " small residuum of phenomena " 
proceeds from disembodied spirits. 

It may be replied that my theory rests upon the mere 
assertion that the phenomena are explicable by reference to 
telepathy. This, however, cannot reasonably be said ; for 



110 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

my theory is in direct line with the well-known and 
admitted facts of telepathy, whilst theirs implies an utter 
abandonment of the domain of demonstrable facts. My 
theory is wholly within the logical limits of scientific in- 
duction, whilst theirs implies a bold leap into the realm of 
superstition. 

The question is often asked, " If two embodied spirits 
can communicate with each other by means of telepathy, 
why cannot a disembodied spirit communicate with one 
still in the flesh by the same means? " My answer is, I do 
not know. Nor do I know of any one who does know. 
I submit, however, that it is not a pertinent question \ for, 
be the facts as they may, it is obvious that no one can tell 
why disembodied spirits can or cannot communicate with 
the living. The real and only pertinent question is, "Do 
disembodied spirits communicate with the living? " The 
answer to this question must be made by each individual 
for himself, and the character of the answer will depend 
upon the evidence before him and his capacity for estimating 
its value. My own answer has already been given in the 
preceding pages, and more fully elsewhere. 1 That answer is, 
that there is no valid scientific evidence whatever that 
spirits of the dead have ever communicated in any manner 
with living persons. In investigating this question I have 
been influenced solely by a desire to learn the truth ; and in 
coming to this conclusion I have been guided by the rules and 
axioms of logical, scientific investigation, as I understand 
them. Amongst the latter I have found none more worthy 
of confidence than those set forth by Mr. Myers in his 
admirable Introduction to " Phantasms of the Living." One 
sentence of that essay should be stamped upon the memory 
of every investigator of psychic science. It is this : " We 
must not rashly multiply the problems involved in this difficult 
inquiry" This declaration refers to the very question now 

1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. Ill 

under consideration; namely, whether any part of the 
phenomena of supersensory transference of thoughts or 
messages are produced by spirits of the dead. Continuing, 
Mr. Myers says : " It is certainly safer to inquire how far they 
can be explained by the influences or impressions, which, 
as we know by actual experiment, living persons can under 
certain circumstances exert or effect on one a?iother, in those 
obscure supersensory modes which we have provisionally 
massed together under the title of Telepathy." This is 
Mr. Myers the scientist. Mr. Myers the spiritist has, 
nevertheless, " rashly multiplied the problems involved in 
this difficult inquiry" by ascribing a part of the phenomena 
to disembodied spirits. I have therefore appealed from 
Mr. Myers the spiritist to Mr. Myers the scientist, — with 
what success I leave our readers to judge. 

I have stated all I deem it necessary to say in regard to 
spiritism, considered as an alleged means of communicating 
with disembodied spirits. I have confined my remarks 
to the " residuary phenomena " which embrace all that 
remains to be accounted for, according to the deliberate 
admissions of two of the ablest scientific advocates of 
spiritism now living. I do not expect other spiritists to be 
bound by their admissions ; for other spiritists are satisfied 
with a far inferior grade and weight of evidence than they 
are. Indeed, I know of no one in the ranks of spiritism 
who is so careful as they are in weighing the value of 
evidence for or against the spiritistic hypothesis. Nor do 
I know of any whose qualitative and quantitative analysis 
of spiritistic phenomena has left a smaller residuum of 
facts upon which to base the hypothesis of spirit communi- 
cation. The scientific world will never cease to be grateful 
to them for the painstaking care which they have exer- 
cised in eliminating the "vast bulk" of the phenomena 
which have been attributed to supermundane agency ; and 
if I have succeeded in reducing them to a " still smaller 



112 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

residuum," I shall beg the privilege of quietly basking in 
the reflected glory of their achievements. 

As I remarked at the opening of this discussion, I have 
felt compelled to treat the subject of spiritism at some length, 
for the reason that it is always of the first importance that 
the basic facts under consideration, in any scientific investi- 
gation, should be properly classified. The gentlemen whose 
views I have criticised will be the first to indorse this propo- 
sition. Moreover, each of us is in pursuit of the same ulti- 
mate object i namely, a scientific demonstration of a future 
life. The broad line of difference in our methods of reason- 
ing up to that conclusion may be summed up briefly as 
follows : — 

My proposition is that psychic phenomena, properly 
interpreted, including that which they attribute to disem- 
bodied spirits, furnish indubitable evidence of a future life ; 
and that the only interpretation which science can give to 
such phenomena is that it emanates from the living psychic, 
and never from disembodied spirits. 

They hold that psychic phenomena, of the so-called 
spiritistic variety, are valuable as evidence of a future life 
only on the supposition that they, or some of them at least, 
emanate directly from disembodied spirits; and that a 
demonstration that disembodied spirits can communicate 
with the living constitutes a demonstration that there is 
a future life for mankind. 

I hold that so-called spiritistic phenomena are valuable 
as evidence of a future life only on the supposition that 
none of them emanate from disembodied spirits. My rea- 
sons are briefly these : — 

In the first place, two antagonistic hypotheses cannot 
both be correct ; nor can each be partly true and partly 
false : for any hypothesis that does not explain all the 
facts is necessarily wrong, and therefore utterly valueless. 
Thus, if any one of a series of so-called spiritistic phe- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. II3 

nomena can be demonstrated to emanate from disembodied 
spirits, the telepathic hypothesis is necessarily invalid as a 
solvent for that series of phenomena. On the other hand, 
if one of said series can be demonstrated to be referable to 
telepathy between living persons, the spiritistic hypothesis 
is necessarily wrong. In other words, it is a logical neces- 
sity that, as between two antagonistic hypotheses, one or the 
other must be wholly right and the other wholly wrong, or 
both must be wholly wrong. The nature of the case does 
not admit of compromise \ for principles of natural law are 
not established by majorities of facts, nor are there excep- 
tions in the operation of natural laws. It follows that if 
one psychic phenomenon could be scientifically demon- 
strated to have been produced by disembodied spirits, the 
whole subject would be relegated to logical chaos, and some 
solution of the mystery would have to be sought for other 
than that embraced in either of the hypotheses under 
consideration. 

Moreover, if all the phenomena which have been ascribed 
to supermundane agency could be demonstrated to proceed 
from disembodied spirits, the problem of a future life would 
be not a whit nearer to a solution than it was when Job 
propounded his momentous question; for the question of 
spirit identity would still arise to plague the faithful. It 
will not be denied that the question of spirit identity is, 
and ever has been, the one great problem which defies 
solution. Nor will it be denied that, if it is true that spirits 
do communicate with the living, there is indubitable evi- 
dence that there are evil spirits as well as good ; that there 
are ignorant spirits as well as enlightened ; that there are 
" spirits of health " as well as " goblins damned ; " and that 
their intents are sometimes " wicked" and sometimes 
"charitable." If, therefore, we are forced to accept al- 
leged spirit communications as genuine emanations from 
disembodied spirits, it by no manner of means follows that 

8 



114 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

one of them comes from a spirit who has once been incar- 
nated ; and the problem of a future life for man is just as 
far from a solution as it was before kitchen furniture began 
to testify and hysterical women to teach the science of the 
soul. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA. 

The Importance of Correct Classification of Phenomena. — The 
Science of the Soul. — The Phenomena of the Soul. — Old Tes- 
tament Records. — The Pentateuch. — The Higher Criticism. — 
The Psychic History of the Children of Israel. — Unreasoning 
Scepticism. — Aaron's Rod. — Moses as a Psychic. — His Methods 
and his Instrumentalities. — The God of Moses. — His Human 
Characteristics. — His Advice to " spoil the Egyptians." — Moses' 
Interview with God on Mount Sinai. — The Molten Calf. — The 
Anger of God. — His Determination to destroy the Children of 
Israel. — Moses argues the Question. — He causes God to Re- 
pent. — Renewal of the Covenant. — Objective Moses vs. Sub- 
jective Moses. 

TF my remarks thus far made have led the reader- to infer 
* that I regard the phenomena of spiritism as an unmixed 
evil, I hasten to remove the impression. Of no phenom- 
enon of Nature can this properly be said. The phenomena 
of Nature are the facts of Nature ; and it is from those facts 
that we must study the sciences. It is only when we 
wrongly interpret or erroneously classify a fact, that it 
bears upon its face the appearance of evil, or is divested of 
its importance to mankind. Every fact in Nature is im- 
portant if properly classified and interpreted. Conversely, 
if the most apparently insignificant fact is improperly classi- 
fied, it often becomes a stumbling-block of great magnitude 
in the pathway of the searcher after truth. No true scien- 
tist can, or will attempt to, deny the truth of these ele- 
mentary propositions. My remarks relating to psychic 



Il6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

phenomena have thus far been made for the sole purpose 
of properly classifying a very important series of psychic 
facts, — the facts of so-called spiritism. No one will deny 
the importance of this first step, if we are to study the sub- 
ject scientifically. That we must study it scientifically if 
we would arrive at the truth, all will admit. 

Psychology is, or should be, an exact science. There is 
no more reason why it should not be an exact science than 
there is why astronomy or electricity should be left out of 
that category; provided always that we apply the same 
rules of investigation to psychology that we apply to any of 
the other sciences. To that end, the one fundamental pre- 
requisite is that we carefully and conscientiously study the 
facts. In doing this, however, the first thing needful is to 
divest ourselves of all prejudice arising from preconceived 
opinions of our own. The second, which is equally impor- 
tant, is to divest our minds of all prejudice in favor of the 
opinions of others whose conclusions are not based upon 
well-authenticated phenomena. The third, and perhaps 
the most important of all, is that we should divest ourselves 
of all emotional opinions. It is to the misdirected emo- 
tions of mankind that the world has been indebted for all 
the opposition that has ever been directed against the 
progress of science. It was the misdirected and perverted 
emotion of religious worship that directed the tortures and 
lighted the fires of the Inquisition, and has again and again 
drenched the earth with human blood ; and no one will 
deny that the ranks of spiritism are to-day largely recruited 
from the class of people who allow their emotions to blind 
their judgment. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance 
that we should guard ourselves against the tendency to 
emotionalism when studying the science of psychology ; for 
those very emotions constitute a most important part of the 
facts which we shall be called upon calmly to investigate. 

The term " psychology " is derived from the two Greek 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. II7 

words psyche, the soul, and logos, a treatise. Psychology 
is, therefore, the science of the soul. 

Like every other science, it must be studied by and 
through the observation of the facts pertaining to the sub- 
ject treated. As the science of astronomy must be studied 
by observing the movements of the heavenly bodies, the 
science of chemistry by the study of chemical combinations 
and reactions, the science of geology by a study of the 
physical structure of the earth ; so must the science of 
psychology be studied by and through the observation of 
the phenomena of the soul. 

To reduce my propositions to a more orderly form, they 
stand thus : — 

1. The Psyche, or what I have elsewhere termed the 
"subjective mind," is the soul. 

2. The phenomena of the soul are, therefore, what are 
generally termed "psychic phenomena." 

3. The soul is the source of all psychic phenomena. 

4. The emotions of religious worship, and the longings 
for immortal life, are psychic phenomena. 

5 . It follows that the facts which we must study, and from 
which we must deduce all legitimate, logical conclusions 
relating to the science of the soul, consist of observable 
psychic phenomena. 

It is only by an appeal to these facts that we can scien- 
tifically demonstrate that man has a soul. It is by reference 
to psychic phenomena alone that the existence of a Deity 
can be demonstrated. Physical science can do neither 
the one nor the other ; nor can it throw more than the 
faintest glimmer of light upon either question. 

To the materialistic scientist physical nature conceals all 
that man would know of God or of his own soul Psychic 
phenomena alone reveals that knowledge. 

The science of the soul is, therefore, necessarily the 
science of religion. To attempt to divorce religion from 



Il8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

psychic phenomena is to attempt the impossible. It is only 
when psychic phenomena are misinterpreted that the cause 
of religion falls into disrepute, or that a knowledge of the 
living God is withheld from mankind. 

Ignorance of psychic laws has placed gods upon the 
throne of heaven possessing all the frailties, weaknesses, and 
passions common to mankind. It has peopled the earth 
with " spirits of health" and with " goblins damned." It 
has been the source of every superstition that has ever ter- 
rified the soul and warped the judgment of man. It has 
created a material hell and filled it with demons, a material 
heaven and peopled it with demigods. 

On the other hand, grossly as psychic phenomena have 
been misunderstood, the fact still remains that they have 
constituted the foundation of every religion worthy of the 
name. Such phenomena have been the only means whereby 
man has been led to the conception of a higher power. 
They have constituted the basis of his hope for a life 
beyond the grave ; and they have furnished the evidence of 
the divine mission of all the epoch-making characters who 
have been instrumental in lifting the souls of men to a 
higher moral and spiritual plane. In a word, they have 
constituted the great bulwark which has protected mankind 
against the assaults of materialism and its consequent moral 
irresponsibility. 

The spiritual history of man is, therefore, but a record of 
psychic phenomena. 

In the world's intellectual infancy all the phenomena of 
Nature were of necessity grossly misinterpreted. Science, 
however, has revealed much of truth concerning the laws of 
the material universe. It has removed physical Nature from 
the domain of the supernatural, and safely conducted it 
within the province of induction. The future of physical 
science is, therefore, assured. None of its phenomena will 
ever again be relegated to the realms of the supernatural. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 1 9 

Its future is eternal progress. Spiritual science has yet to 
be formulated and brought within the realm of induction. 

The Old Testament records furnish the most striking 
illustrations of what I have said of misinterpreted psychic 
phenomena. Much valuable time has heretofore been em- 
ployed in the discussion of questions pertaining to the 
authenticity and the historical accuracy of the Pentateuch. 
Countless treatises* have been written, displaying profound 
learning and patient research, in which are discussed questions 
such as whether Moses is the author of the whole, or of only 
a part, or, indeed, of any of the Pentateuch ; whether it is 
an historical work, or merely legendary and poetical (De 
Wette) ; whether Ezra was its sole author, as also of all the 
other historical books of the Old Testament (Spinoza) ; or 
whether it is an agglomeration of fragments written by many 
men at different epochs (Geddes) . Much ingenuity has also 
been displayed in attempts to prove that the whole has a 
mystical meaning \ in which efforts its historical possibilities 
are entirely ignored. 

The rabbins held that all but a small portion of the latter 
part of Deuteronomy was written by Moses. From the 
Jewish synagogues this belief was inherited by the Christian 
Church, and it is still widely prevalent among Christians of 
the present day. It was not until the seventeenth century 
that the belief was seriously challenged or the doctrine of 
plenary inspiration questioned by any part of the Church. 
The higher criticism of more recent times, however, has 
done much to dispel the palpable errors of former beliefs, 
and to bring comparative order out of legendary chaos. 

It is not my purpose to enter the prolific field of discus- 
sion which these questions present. I wish, however, briefly 
to touch upon what seems to me to be the salient feature 
of the Old Testament records ; namely, their character as 
depositories of psychic facts. 

It is fashionable to deride the history of the children of 



120 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Israel and of their exodus from the land of their bondage 
and their sorrows. The unreasoning sceptic regards it as 
a fiction, written in the infancy of the human intellect, by 
men whose minds were dominated by superstitions, or by 
the priesthood for their own aggrandizement and the subju- 
gation of their followers. Even those who believe in the 
plenary inspiration of the Bible and the literal truth of the 
Mosaic account of creation, find it hard to identify the God 
of love, mercy, and benevolence which Christ taught man- 
kind to adore, with the God of Moses, who was character- 
ized by all the weakness, passion, jealousy, cruelty, and 
vindictiveness common to primitive humanity. It seems 
evident that between the extremes of unreasoning scepticism 
on the one hand and of equally unreasoning credulity on the 
other, the truth must be found. When it is sought in that 
direction, it will be discovered that the questions of author- 
ship and dates possess very little importance compared with 
the insight which will be gained of the first great step in the 
evolution of spiritual man. 

As before intimated, it is from the psychical standpoint 
that we must study the early history of the religion of 
the Jews ; and as it is from that religion that the religion 
of Christendom has been evolved, the subject possesses 
the most transcendent interest and importance. 

If any one who understands the elementary principles 
involved in the production of the psychic phenomena 
known to this generation as " spiritistic," will, in the light 
of that knowledge, read the Old Testament, particularly 
that part of the Pentateuch relating to the exodus of the 
children of Israel from Egypt, he will find a record of 
psychic phenomena unsurpassed by any of the alleged 
performances of the adepts of the Orient. Viewed in that 
light, it will be found that many of the statements there 
recorded, which have provoked the scepticism and excited 
the ridicule of a great portion of the human family, will 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 121 

assume such an air of probability that they maybe regarded 
as within the range of possible history. In saying this, I do 
not take into account the so-called miracle of the rod of 
Aaron, which, thrown upon the ground, changed into a 
serpent \ although it is no more wonderful than many of 
the alleged facts of the Yogis of India which seem to be 
well authenticated. Indeed, those feats of Moses and Aaron 
were paralleled at the time by those of Pharaoh's magicians 
and sorcerers, whose rods also exhibited the same phe- 
nomena when thrown upon the ground ; albeit the rod of 
Aaron demonstrated his greater power as a magician. The 
point is that it was the same power in the" one case as in the 
other. If the magicians did their work within the domain 
of natural law, we have no right to suppose that Aaron tran- 
scended that limit. Assuming the statements to be true, the 
only legitimate conclusion is that Aaron was the greater 
magician. In other words, the same principle that I have 
so often tried to enforce applies here ; namely, that we have 
no logical or scientific right to attribute any phenomenon to 
supernatural agency when cognate phenomena are explicable 
by reference to natural causes. 

But it is not of the phenomena recorded in the Pentateuch 
where the modern parallels are involved in scientific doubt 
that I wish to speak. The salient feature of the psychic 
career of Moses consists in his supposed communion with 
God. Of those phenomena we have innumerable parallels 
in modern times which are scientifically authenticated, and 
we know something of the laws which pertain to their 
production. 

That Moses was a psychic, is evident. He was familiar 
with all the occult arts known to the magicians and con- 
jurers of Egypt. He had been educated partly in the 
household of the Egyptian royal family; but his early 
training was in his mother's home and family, and he was 
consequently imbued with a belief in the God of Israel and 



122 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

reverence for his name. His conception of the attributes 
of the Deity was necessarily limited by the prevalent beliefs 
of his people and the traditions of his ancestry. He was 
wise, energetic, and ambitious. Educated and reared in 
the household of Pharaoh's daughter, he was advanced 
far beyond his people in knowledge and practical educa- 
tion. He had not shared the miseries of their bondage, 
nor had his spirit been broken by the tyranny of their 
taskmasters ; but his sympathies were with them, and 
his proud, imperious soul revolted against the oppression 
and degradation of his people. His mind was the store- 
house of the traditions of his race, and he had faith in 
the promise of the God of his fathers. That promise 
had been a tradition handed down to the Israelites 
from a remote ancestry. It sustained them during all 
the long years of their bondage, it encouraged them 
during all the long and weary journey in the wilderness, 
and it is still a living element of the religion of that race. 
That Moses was thoroughly imbued with faith in that prom- 
ise, is shown by the facts of his subsequently reminding God 
of it at critical periods in the history of the exodus, — 

" Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to 
whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I 
will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land 
that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall 
inherit it forever." 

Moreover, Moses had committed a crime which com- 
pelled him to flee from his native land to escape the 
vengeance of the king. During the long years of his 
exile he had cherished a personal hatred of the reign- 
ing family of Egypt, for that " Pharaoh sought to slay 
him." Undoubtedly that feeling extended to the whole 
Egyptian race, and added a potent element to the com- 
bination of circumstances all of which conspired to point 
to him as the future deliverer of his people from their 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 



123 



slavery. That such a chain of circumstances would 
naturally be so construed by such a man as the biogra- 
phers of Moses have portrayed, there can be no doubt. 
That this was the actual effect upon his mind, cannot be 
questioned in view of subsequent events. His mind was 
filled to saturation with the auto-suggestion which crys- 
tallized in the vision which he saw on Mount Horeb, and 
which found voice in the command there given to go 
into Egypt, deliver his people from their bondage, and 
conduct them to the promised land. In view of the 
developments of modern science, there can be no other 
rational interpretation of the phenomenon alleged to have 
occurred on Mount Horeb. He was a psychic. He 
subjectively saw the vision of the burning bush, and he 
subjectively (clair-audiently) heard the voice. His educa- 
tion and habit of thought produced an auto-suggestion 
that it was the voice of God; and, true to the universal 
law of suggestion, it assumed to be the voice of God. 
The effect of this vision and of this command upon the 
mind of such a man as Moses could have been no other 
than what it is represented to have been. It gave direc- 
tion, tone, and color to his whole subsequent career ; and 
the events which followed constitute a history of psychic 
phenomena which find many parallels in the subsequent 
developments of psychic research. Doubtless many of 
them have been exaggerated by his historians, and many 
have been evolved from their inner consciousness. But 
enough remains, after all due allowances are made, to 
constitute a history the credible events of which are of 
the utmost value to mankind ; for without them the his- 
tory of the evolution of the spiritual man would not be 
complete. 

It is not my purpose to trace in all its details the history 
of the psychic manifestations recorded in the Old Testa- 
ment. My primary object is to suggest a line of study 



124 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

which cannot fail to interest the student of psychology, and 

which may lead to important conclusions. It is important 

however, that the salient features of the communications 

which it is alleged that God made to Moses and the 

prophets should be noted ; for it is by the character of the 

communications themselves that they must be judged. If 

they actually emanated from the Deity, surely there will not 

be lacking internal evidence to sustain that hypothesis. On 

the other hand, if they emanated from a finite intelligence, 

their character and content cannot fail to demonstrate the 

fact. In other words, we must apply the same standards 

of comparison to the psychic manifestations of Moses that 

we employ when estimating the value and determining the 

source of the messages delivered through the psychics of 

to-day. The most ardent spiritist, possessed of sufficient 

intelligence to seek shelter during the progress of a storm, 

would not ask us to credit the statement of a psychic that a 

message emanates from the spirit of a Webster, when it is 

couched in the language of a stevedore. Nor can we be 

expected to believe that a message emanates from the 

Deity when we find that it exhibits all the passions and 

frailties of our common humanity. It will not be denied 

by the most ardent advocate of the dogma of plenary 

inspiration that the God of Moses, as represented in the 

Pentateuch, exhibited many of the frailties and some of the 

vices of human nature. Nor will it be denied that this fact 

has been a potent weapon in the hands of scepticism in all 

ages of the civilized world. The contrast between the God 

of Moses and the God whom Jesus proclaimed to mankind 

is too violent to permit even the most ardent Christian to 

recognize their identity. Hence the resort to the theory of 

the symbolism of the Pentateuch on the one hand and of 

its mysticism on the other. It was a wise remark of Dante 

that, before we attempt to explain the mystical meaning of 

a passage of Scripture, it is well to be certain that the pas- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 25 

sage is mystic. This rule embraces a world of practical 
wisdom \ but it is not generally followed. Hence there 
has been a great deal of mystical meaning extracted from 
the Bible where no possible mysticism was intended ; and 
much symbolism has been drawn out of passages that are 
not symbolical. It may be difficult at times to determine 
whether or not a mystical meaning is to be drawn from a 
particular passage ; but there is one characteristic the pres- 
ence of which renders it reasonably certain that a passage 
is neither mystical nor symbolical. When the author 
assumes to be relating historical facts, and the circum- 
stances which he details accord with the experience of 
mankind, it may be safely assumed that the passage is not 
mystical. It may be fiction, but it is neither mysticism 
nor symbolism. The application of this test will re- 
move a very important part of the Old Testament out- 
side the range of the symbolical theory. This remark 
applies particularly to the psychic phenomena of which 
we have been speaking. As these phenomena consist 
largely of the alleged communion of God with Moses 
and the prophets, I propose briefly to examine one or 
two examples which seem to combine the essential features 
of them all. 

One of the most striking examples of the intensely finite, 
human character of the God of Moses is found in the 
advice given to the latter during their first interview on 
Mount Horeb. After commanding Moses to go to Pharaoh 
and demand the release of the children of Israel, and prom- 
ising to conduct the latter to a " land flowing with milk and 
honey," he said, — 

" And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyp- 
tians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not 
go empty : 

" But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her 
that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, 



126 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

and raiment : and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon 
your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." : 

Comment upon the intensely human character of this 
advice would seem superfluous. 

Perhaps the best illustration of the human characteristics 
of the God of Moses is found in the thirty-second chapter 
of Exodus. It will be remembered that when the children 
of Israel arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai and pitched 
their encampment, Moses went up into the mount to com- 
mune with God. and remained there forty days. It was then 
that the " tables of stone ' ? were prepared, and u written with 
the finger of God." 

The account of the events which happened during the 
long absence of Moses continues as follows : — 

" And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down 
out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto 
Aaron, and said unto him, Up. make us gods which shall go 
before us : for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up 
out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 

" And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden ear-rings, 
which are in the ears of vour wives, of vour sons, and of vour 
daughters, and bring them unto me. 

" And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which 
were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron. 

"And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a 
graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf : and they said, 
These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the 
land of Egypt. 

" And when Aaron saw it. he built an altar before it : and 
Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to 
the Lord. 

" And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt- 
offerings, and brought peace-offerings : and the people sat 
down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go. get thee down : for thy 
people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have 
corrupted themselves : 

1 Exodus iii. 21, 22. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 127 

"They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I 
commanded them : they have made them a molten calf, and 
have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, 
These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out 
of the land of Egypt. 

" And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, 
and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people; 

" Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot 
against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make 
of thee a great nation. 

"And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, 
why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou 
hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power, 
and with a mighty hand ? 

" Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mis- 
chief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and 
to consume them from the face of the earth ? Turn from thy 
fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 

" Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to 
whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I 
will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land 
that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall 
inherit it forever. 

" And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do 
unto his people." 1 

Of course, there will always be room for a variety of 
opinions concerning the true interpretation of these pas- 
sages of Scripture. By the unreasoning sceptic they will 
always be regarded as purely fictitious ; although we have 
no logical right to dismiss them thus so long as there 
remains any other rational interpretation. A book which, 
in all ages of the civilized world, has been regarded by a 
large and intelligent part of the human family as sacred 
history, cannot be dismissed without a respectful hearing. 

By many these passages will always be regarded as sym- 
bolical; although it is difficult to imagine what they can 
possibly prefigure, what practical lesson they can teach, 
what principle they can symbolize. 

1 Exodus xxxii. 1-14. 



128 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

By a few they will always be regarded as literal truth, 
written by divinely inspired men \ although it is difficult to 
imagine how they can reconcile the crude and primitive 
conceptions of God which these passages develop with that 
grand and noble conception of the Deity which Christ 
taught to mankind. 

By most people, however, the Pentateuch will be regarded 
as a collection of traditions handed down through many 
generations, corrupted in their transmission, recorded by 
different individuals, and collected and arranged by some 
one or more writers not definitely identified. That this is 
the true hypothesis, there can be little doubt, in view of the 
developments of the higher criticism of modern times. 

There is, however, always truth in tradition. No matter 
how grossly the original story may have been corrupted in 
its transmission from mouth to mouth through the ages of 
its life, the salient feature of a national tradition always 
retains its identity and essential character. The imagina- 
tion of those through whom it passes may add details 
embodying their own notions of what ought to have been 
true, and the story may thus grow in magnitude, lose co- 
herency, and possibly become a grotesque caricature of the 
original. But the central idea retains its identity, and, to a 
certain extent, its consistency ; for its foundation is gen- 
erally same important truth. And the vitality of truth is 
such that it can never be wholly extinguished, however 
thickly it may be overlaid with error. " The eternal years 
of God are hers." 

Now the central truth of the Mosaic traditions consists 
of the fact that Moses believed himself to be in direct 
communion with God. The fact that he was in error 
regarding the source of his communications does not 
militate against the verity of the tradition. He believed 
it to be God, and his followers so believed ; and to them it 
was a most vital truth, for it gave tone and color and sub- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. \2g 

stance to the Jewish nation. It was during those commu- 
nications that the covenant was from time to time renewed, 
— the covenant which God had made with Abraham and 
with Isaac and with Jacob, that their seed should " multiply 
as the stars of heaven," that they should be his " chosen 
people," and that the "land of Canaan should be their 
inheritance forever." It was their faith in this covenant 
that sustained them in every adversity and filled them with 
a pride and a hope which has not yet ceased to be a vital- 
izing element in their national and religious character. It 
was inevitable, therefore, that the central idea of their 
national tradition should be preserved. It was also more 
than likely that the main feature of the methods and of the 
paraphernalia employed by Moses in carrying on his inter- 
course with God should be preserved practically intact in 
the national tradition. All the other facts and alleged facts 
of Jewish history up to that time were utterly insignificant 
beside the one central idea that God had appeared unto 
Moses, talked habitually and familiarly with him, and had 
covenanted with them to give them the land of Canaan for 
an inheritance forever, and to make of them a great nation. 
It is a corollary of this postulate that the phenomena which 
Moses and his followers attributed to divine agency actually 
occurred, substantially as they are related in the Old 
Testament. 

This view of the case will be still further confirmed when 
we consider the specific character of the phenomena and 
compare it with cognate phenomena which are occurring 
every day and which can be experimentally reproduced. 
In making this comparison it must be remembered that 
Moses was subject to the same laws, and was hedged about 
by the same limitations, that control and limit the psychic 
manifestations of to-day. The same law of suggestion 
operated to cause his subjective mind to believe itself to 
be God, that causes that of the modern psychic to believe 

9 



130 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

itself to be the spirit of any deceased person whose name 
is suggested. If there could be any possible doubt of the 
truth of this proposition, it will be set at rest when we con- 
sider the nature of the conversation detailed in the foregoing 
passages. God is there represented as being so deeply 
moved by anger and jealousy, when he learned that the 
children of Israel were worshipping other gods, that he 
wanted to wipe them all out of existence. " Let me 
alone," said he to Moses, "that my wrath may wax hot 
against them, and that I may consume them." I submit 
that this is not the language of a God. But when we 
remember that the subjective mind is the seat of the 
emotions, and that it is egotistical, vain, selfish, and jealous 
to the last degree when uncontrolled by objective reason, 
we have no difficulty in tracing the expression to the sub- 
jective mind of Moses himself. This view is still further 
confirmed by the attitude of objective Moses. His reason 
told him that it would be highly injudicious, to say the 
least, to utterly consume the children of Israel \ and ac- 
cordingly he proceeded to argue the question with God 
and advise him against such heroic measures. So cogent 
were his arguments, or, to speak in modern scientific 
phrase, so potent were his suggestions, that God is repre- 
sented to have " repented of the evil which he thought to 
do unto his people." 

It needs no argument to convince the intelligent reader 
of the absurdity involved in the supposition that finite 
Moses was able by argument to convict of wrong-doing a 
God of infinite intelligence, mercy, wisdom, goodness, and 
power, and cause him to repent of his evil intentions. It 
is self-evident that the only rational explanation is that 
given by Maimonides, who flourished in the twelfth cen- 
tury, and was doubtless the greatest Jewish philosopher the 
world has ever seen ; namely, " It was objective Moses 
talking with subjective Moses." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 131 

This is certainly the only explanation that will harmonize 
all the alleged facts and give coherency and consistency to 
the Old Testament accounts of the intercourse of God with 
man during the Mosaic dispensation. The same hypothesis 
applies with equal force to the intercourse of God with the 
prophets and seers, from the days of Abraham to the advent 
of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Studied from this point of view, the facts related will be 
found to be illustrative of the principles and laws which 
modern scientific research has brought to light. As I have 
before remarked, the Old Testament is a record of most 
remarkable psychic experiences, — a vast storehouse of 
misinterpreted and wrongly classified psychic facts. But, 
as I shall attempt to show in the ensuing chapters, they are 
facts which, properly classified and intelligently appreciated, 
are of the most transcendent interest and importance to 
mankind. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA {continued). 

The Prophets of Israel. — Elisha's Methods. — He saves the Three 
Kings. — Human Characteristics of Elisha's God. — The Evo- 
lution of the Monotheistic Idea through Psychic Phenomena. — 
The First Conception of the Idea of a Living God. — The Evo- 
lution of the Spiritual Man. — The First Great Step through 
Psychic Phenomena. — The Jewish Origin of Monotheism — The 
God of Abraham. — The Dispensation of Moses. — The Second 
Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. — The Deca- 
logue. — The Influence of Egyptian Civilization. — The Wisdom 
of Moses. — Egyptian Ethics and the Jewish Religion. — The 
Progress of the Prophets reflected in their Conception of the 
Character of God. — Isaiah's God no longer the God of Israel 
alone. 

TTAVING now briefly adverted to a series of psychic 
phenomena recorded in the Pentateuch, it remains to 
note the continuation of the same through the prophets who 
succeeded Moses. It is undeniable that the phenomena 
exhibited by the prophets were the same as those of Moses 
in all essential particulars. They were dominated by the 
same beliefs, or suggestions, and the resultant manifes- 
tations necessarily corresponded, modified only by their 
different environment and the natural development and 
progress of the human mind. That the prophets were 
psychics, is undeniable. Even the methods sometimes em- 
ployed by them in entering the psychical condition were 
identical with those often required by the modern psychic 
when preparing for some signal demonstration. 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 133 

A striking illustration of this fact is found in the stance 
which the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom had with the 
prophet Elisha. The King of Moab, who had formerly 
been tributary to the King of Israel, had rebelled. The 
latter had formed an alliance, offensive and defensive, with 
the Kings of Judah and Edom for the purpose of bringing 
the King of Moab to terms. On their march through the 
wilderness of Edom towards the land of the Moabites, they 
found themselves in a region that was devoid of water 
wherewith to water their stock. In this condition it became 
evident to them that they would soon fall an easy prey to 
the King of Moab. In this strait " the King of Israel said, 
Alas ! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, 
to deliver them into the hand of Moab." 

" But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the 
Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one 
of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is 
Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the 
hands of Elijah." * 

Accordingly the three kings sought out Elisha, who, after 
making some disparaging remarks concerning the King 
of Israel, consented to do as requested for the sake of 
Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah. 

"But now," continued the prophet, "bring me a min- 
strel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that 
the hand of the Lord came upon him. 

" And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full 
of ditches." 2 

The point to be noted in the foregoing is that, on this 
great occasion, when the fate of three kingdoms trembled 
in the balance, Elisha deemed it essential that he should 
have the aid of music to enable him to enter the subjective 
state and successfully invoke the name of the Lord. It is 
needless to remark that it was precisely the condition often 

1 2 Kings iii. 10, 11. 2 Op. cit, v. 15, 16. 



134 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

required by the modern psychic to enable him to enter into 
communication with spirits of the dead for the purpose of 
obtaining their advice in cases of emergency. 

It is also worthy of note that the " control " of Elisha 
recommended a very common-sense plan for obtaining 
water, namely, digging for it, since the " probabilities " 
did not promise rain in time to relieve the distress of the 
three armies. 

What follows is illustrative of the essentially human and 
emotional character of Elisha's God, — 

"And this [finding water] is but a little thing in the 
sight of the Lord ; he will deliver the Moabites also into 
your hand. 

" And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice 
city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of 
water, and mar every good piece of land with stones." 1 

And it was so. 

Now, the prophets of Israel were undoubtedly the best 
men of that race. They it was who constantly enforced the 
monotheistic idea, and thus saved Israel from lapsing into 
idolatry. The hereditary priesthood represented the reli- 
gion of the time in its external forms and ordinances. They 
were the guardians of its organization and its ritual. The 
predilection which the people evinced for ritual and cere- 
monial worship often betrayed them into acts of idolatry ; 
that is to say, into the worship of other gods besides 
Jehovah. It was the prophets alone who constantly resisted 
this tendency towards polytheism on the part of the priest- 
hood and the people. This conflict was carried on in a 
more or less pronounced form from the time of Moses to 
the time of Jesus ; and to the successful resistance of the 
prophets to the insidious inroads of polytheism into the 
religion of the Jewish nation, is due the final triumph of 
Christianity. 

1 Op. cit, v. 18, 19. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. I 35 

It will thus be seen that it is to psychic phenomena that 
the world owes its first conception of a living God, The 
fact that the phenomena were grossly misinterpreted does 
not militate against the truth of this proposition. Its very 
nature was necessarily conducive to monotheism. Originating 
in the subjective mind of the psychic, it was inevitable that 
it should develop the emotional characteristics peculiar to 
the subjective mind. 1 One of the most pronounced of 
these characteristics, when it is not under the intelligent 
control of the objective mind, is that of monumental 
egotism. This emotion is developed in a more or less 
pronounced form in every phenomenal manifestation of 
subjective activity. The inevitable result was that, when 
once the idea was suggested that the source of the com- 
munications which were received by the psychics of the 
Mosaic Age was none other than the Deity himself, the 
character of the communications corresponded exactly to 
the psychic's conception of the character of God. That the 
first assumption should be that it was the greatest and most 
powerful of all the gods, was inevitable, especially when the 
psychic was imbued with the idea of a plurality of gods. 
The Jews, in common with all surrounding nations and 
peoples, were imbued with that idea. Idolatry and poly- 
theism were everywhere dominant. The gods of other 
nations, however, were purely objective conceptions, and 
were represented by material objects of worship. 

The God of the Jews, on the other hand, was evolved 
from the subjective intelligence of the seer by means of 
psychic manifestations. Just how the suggestion originated 
that the intelligence manifested in the phenomena was from 
God, must forever remain in obscurity ; nor is the question 
of any great importance. That it originated with the Jews 
at a very early period of their national existence, is sufficiently 

1 For a full discussion of the distinctive characteristics of the sub- 
jective mind, see " The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 



136 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

evident. That the great characters of early Jewish history 
actually existed, and that the story of their lives as related 
in the Old Testament is substantially correct, may, provision- 
ally at least, be taken for granted. The important matter to 
be considered is not the physical history of the Jewish 
tribes, but the history of the evolution of the monotheistic 
idea. In the latter, however, we may find internal evidence 
of the substantial verity of the former. Certain it is that in 
the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob we find the 
first crude conception of the idea of a living God, — an idea 
which gradually grew in definiteness and magnitude until it 
was perfected by Jesus of Nazareth. 

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the God of 
the Israelitish nation. The right of other gods to rule the 
other nations was not at first seriously disputed. It is true 
that the proprietorship of the whole earth was early 
asserted \ but the whole attention of the Jewish God was 
occupied in providing for the wants and promoting the 
welfare of his chosen people. 

This, then, was the first great step in the evolution of the 
spiritual man. 

The point to be observed in this connection, and which 
must be constantly borne in mind, is that this step in the 
evolution of the spiritual man was brought about by means 
of psychic phenomena, — the phenomena of the soul. In 
the very nature of things it could be brought about in no 
other way. It is an axiom of the Christian Church that 
spiritual truth can only be apprehended through spiritual 
faculties. This is true in the sense that it is only by an 
observation of spiritual phenomena that a knowledge of 
spiritual truth can be obtained. It is obviously not true in 
the sense in which it is generally understood, — namely, that 
spiritual truth must always be perceived by the intuitional 
faculties of the soul ; for the spiritual intuitions or percep- 
tions of no two human beings were ever exactly alike, and 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 137 

they often differ as widely as the poles. It is obvious, 
therefore, that where the spiritual perceptions of two or 
more persons do not arrive at the same result, one or more 
of them has failed to perceive the truth. It follows that no 
intuition of the ordinary human mind can be relied upon as 
a guide to spiritual truth unless the intuitions of the great 
bulk of intelligent beings point to the same conclusion. 
History furnishes but a single instance of a man so ex- 
ceptionally endowed with the faculty of spiritual or intui- 
tional perception of spiritual truth that his teachings serve 
as a safe guide, not only to his own era and people, but to 
all mankind for all time. 

Nevertheless, the intuitions of others cannot safely be 
ignored, for they often constitute important factors in par- 
ticular cases, and frequently lead to a partial knowledge of 
great truths. Thus it is highly probable that intuition may 
have played an important part in the minds of the early 
prophets. It may have been an intuitional thought that 
led them to identify the intelligence manifested through 
psychic conditions with the living God. If so, it was a 
spiritual perception of a partial truth ; for the soul of man 
is demonstrably a spark of the divine intelligence. More- 
over, it is the divine instrumentality through which God 
manifests his will, and by which alone can his existence 
be demonstrated. 

The next great step in the evolution of spiritual man was 
taken under the dispensation of Moses. He inherited the 
controlling ideas of his forefathers, and was consequently 
dominated by the suggestions embraced in the traditions 
of his race. Hence the God of Moses was the same an- 
thropopathical deity that was worshipped by Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. Nevertheless, a distinct and clearly de- 
fined step in advance was taken under the Mosaic dispensa- 
tion. The code of ethics laid down in the Decalogue, 
rudimentary as it was, compared with the high standard of 



138 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

a later civilization, was a vast improvement on that of pre- 
Mosaic times. That this was largely due to the Egyptian 
education of Moses, there can be no doubt. 

" If it be a fact, as there is no reason to doubt, that Moses 
was skilled in all the wisdom, esoteric and exoteric, of the 
Egyptians, there can be no difficulty in conjecturing the source 
from which he derived the code of rudimentary ethics which 
is laid down in the Decalogue. The scrolls and inscriptions 
which, in recent times, have been brought to light and de- 
ciphered, have demonstrated that long before the time of Moses 
the moral standard, theoretically at least, was very high in 
Egypt, as high indeed as that of the Decalogue. The great 
distinction of the Israelites — a very great one — was that their 
morality, even if it dated from their residence in Egypt, had 
the effect of soon refining and exalting their religious ideas, 
as was never the case in Egypt itself, where, curiously and in- 
explicably enough, a debased form of popular religion retained 
its place side by side with a high development, in some quarters 
or classes, of the moral sentiment." 1 

This " inexplicable " difference in the reciprocal effect 
of religion and morality in the two nations is easily ac- 
counted for when we take into consideration the difference 
in the two religions. A refined code of ethics and morality 
has no necessary effect upon an idolatrous form of worship ; 
that is to say, they have no, or comparatively limited, re- 
ciprocal relations. On the other hand, there was a neces- 
sary and vital relation between the morality and the religion 
of the Jews. The God of the Israelites, as I have pointed 
out, resided in their seers and prophets. Their God could 
be communicated with, consulted and questioned ; and the 
responses were the reflections of the mind of the one who 
consulted him. In other words, the God of the Israelites 
was just what they made him. If the prophet was domi- 
nated by a vicious code of morals, the responses from his 
God would be correspondingly vicious. If he was actuated 

1 The Natural History of the Christian Religion, by William Mack- 
intosh, M. A., D. D. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 39 

by lofty sentiments and a pure morality, the responses from 
his God would be correspondingly elevated. 

Hence it was that the religion of the Jews under the 
Mosaic dispensation was comparatively refined and elevated. 
Moses was their prophet and their seer, as well as their 
temporal leader; and, as Mackintosh remarks, — 

" The great fame and reputation of the Hebrew legislator is 
sufficiently justified by the fact that he so clearly discerned the 
importance of ethical and religious principles as a means of 
giving stability to social organization ; that he took the highest 
results of the most ancient civilization which the world has 
seen, and laid them at the foundation of his nascent state ; that 
he snatched the torch of human progress from hands that could 
bear it no further, and passed it on to those of a fresh and 
youthful race, — of a race which he may have freshened and 
rejuvenated by this very stroke of high policy." x 

It seems probable, however, that the results were due, 
perhaps, less to high policy on the part of the great law- 
giver than to the fortuitous commingling of the high code 
of ethics, which was a part of his Egyptian education, with 
the peculiar religion of his fathers. Be this as it may, the 
fact remains that the religion of the Jews, as it was in the 
beginning, — as it was when the first psychic seer conceived 
himself to be in communication with the Deity, — contained 
the germs of an infinite development ; for every advance- 
ment in civilization, every step toward a higher grade of 
ethics, every new conception of a nobler code of morals, 
had a positive, direct, and necessarily corresponding effect 
upon those psychic manifestations which they believed to 
be communications proceeding directly from the living 
God. In scientific phrase, the suggestions embraced in 
their moral code were reflected and reproduced in their 
psychic manifestations, precisely as the so-called spirit 
communications of to-day are reproductions of the medium's 

1 Op. cit, p. 92. 



140 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

conception of the character of the spirit who is supposed 
to be present. 

The religion of the Jews was, therefore, necessarily ele- 
vated and refined just in accordance with the moral status 
of their prophets. But their prophets were human. They 
were subject to all the weaknesses and frailties of common 
humanity. They were restricted in their progress by the 
limitations of their environment \ and civilization was yet 
in its infancy. Progress with them was, therefore, neces- 
sarily slow and fitful, and was often retarded by those reac- 
tionary forces which are always present in every inchoate 
nation. 

It was many generations after the death of Moses before 
any substantial progress was made in the religious evolution 
of the Jewish people. Their prophets, however, continued 
to exist, and their influence gradually extended. The 
source of their inspiration was always the same ; for the 
same suggestions were transmitted from generation to gen- 
eration. Each prophet believed himself to be in communi- 
cation with the only living and true God. The separation 
of the tribes after the death of Moses did not change the 
dominant idea. Each prophet of all the tribes believed 
himself to be in communication with the only true God. 
Each tribe regarded with contempt the gods of the other 
tribes, as was natural. Nevertheless the monotheistic idea 
was dominant with all the prophets. It could not be other- 
wise \ for the inherited suggestion was constantly before 
each of them that when he entered the psychic state it was 
because "the hand of the Lord was upon him; " and his 
utterances when in that state were necessarily in keeping 
with the dominant suggestion that he was giving voice to 
the very words of the living God. Hence the authoritative 
prefix to all their announcements — " Thus saith the Lord " 
— was uttered in the solemn tones of sincerest conviction. 

That they were earnest and sincere in their convictions, 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 141 

cannot be doubted. Their enthusiasm, which oftentimes 
developed into fanaticism, could be the result of nothing 
less than absolute conviction, not only of the truth of their 
utterances, but of their divine origin and authority. They 
could not believe otherwise ; for they were constantly ex- 
periencing phenomena which forced that conviction upon 
them. They found themselves habitually entering a state 
that was to them mysterious and abnormal, and yet agree- 
able. In that state they entered into communion with what 
appeared to them to be an extraneous intelligence. That 
intelligence sometimes put words into their mouths that 
were foreign to their objective thoughts. In short, they 
experienced the same phenomena that modern psychics 
attribute to disembodied spirits, differing only in the sug- 
gestions which gave character to the manifestations. To 
them the evidences of divine communion and of their own 
divine mission were demonstrative. That conviction was 
communicated to the people, partly by their intense ear- 
nestness, and partly by their occasional exhibitions of psychic 
power in the performance of what was then regarded as 
miracles, as in the cases of Elijah and Elisha and later by 
Jesus of Nazareth. 

It will thus be seen that the monotheistic idea was inhe- 
rent in the very nature of the psychic phenomena expe- 
rienced by the seers and prophets of the Jewish race. The 
first psychic who, no matter how the idea originated, con- 
ceived himself to be in communion with God, fixed the 
monotheistic idea in his own mind and in the minds of his 
successors for all time. No power on earth could uproot 
that idea thus formed, so long as there was a succession of 
psychics to whom the dominating suggestion could be 
transmitted. Nevertheless it was an idea that possessed 
the seeds of future development, in that every step in the 
progress of a higher civilization correspondingly elevated 
and refined the popular conception of the Deity. We 



142 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

have already seen the advancement of the idea under the 
dispensation of Moses. Its development after his death 
was comparatively slow up to the advent of Jesus. Never- 
theless, there was substantial progress before that event. 
The God of Abraham was the God of a tribe. As the tribe 
enlarged to a nation, he became a national God. But it 
was not until the days of Isaiah that the idea of God's 
power and dominion was so enlarged as to give him 
credit for benevolent intentions towards the whole race of 
mankind. 

" And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my 
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the pre- 
served of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, 
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." 1 

In chapter lx. of Isaiah, there is further vague mention 
of the benevolent intentions of the God of Israel towards 
the Gentiles ; but it is also evident that the latter were of 
secondary consideration : — 

" Yet it must be confessed," says Mackintosh, " that even the 
prophetic hold of this higher conception was wavering and 
unsteady, as is conspicuously apparent in the psalter, where the 
old popular, or we may say heathenish, and prophetic senti- 
ments follow each other in baffling confusion, in irreconcilable 
juxtaposition. Not a reader but is surprised, if not pained, to 
see the breath of vengeance and the breath of mercy blow by 
turns through those wonderful compositions, which were proba- 
bly among the last, and were, in some respects, the greatest 
products of the prophetic spirit." 

The most substantial progress of the monotheistic idea 
during the interval between the death of Moses and the 
advent of Christ, consisted not so much in the enlarge- 
ment of the idea itself as in its general acceptance by the 
Jewish people. This was brought about by their misfor- 
tunes, together with the earnest efforts made by their 

1 Isaiah xlix. 6. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 43 

prophets to convince them that it was to their wickedness, 
evinced in following after false gods, that their troubles 
were due. With the details of their history, however, we 
have little to do. It suffices to know that the monotheistic 
principle was developed by and through the Jewish people 
by means of psychic phenomena. As I have before re- 
marked, the fact that it was misunderstood at the time 
does not militate against the broad truth of the proposition. 
All the phenomena of Nature were misinterpreted in the 
infancy of the human race \ but the laws of Nature were 
the same then as they are now. The advantage that we 
possess consists in the fact that we know a little more than 
did the ancients of the laws which pertain to the phe- 
nomena of Nature. They thought that the earth was flat, 
and that it was the centre of the universe. We know that 
it is round, and that it constitutes but an infinitesimal part 
of the universe. We also know that it was round when 
they lived, and that it will continue to be round as long as 
it holds together. In other words, with our knowledge of 
astronomical laws we can reconstruct the past and foretell 
the future movements of the heavenly bodies. We also 
know something of the laws of the soul. It is little, it is 
true, compared with what is known of the physical sciences ; 
for the fact is just fairly beginning to dawn upon the human 
mind that the soul can be studied scientifically. But 
enough is known of the phenomena of the soul to enable 
us to classify a few of the leading facts and understand 
something of their significance. The phenomena which 
we have been discussing have a well-settled place in psychic 
science, and there is no longer any excuse for misinter- 
preting them. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ADVENT OF JESUS. 

The Third Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. — The 
God which Jesus Proclaimed. — Intellectual Prodigies. — The 
Intuitional Powers of Jesus. — His Psychical Powers. — His Per- 
fect Knowledge of the Laws of the Soul. — Modern Confirma- 
tions of the Truth of his Philosophy. — The Psychic Methods of 
Jesus. — His Reason always in the Ascendant. — His Perfect 
Moral and Religious Character. — Psychic Phenomena the Evi- 
dence of his Divine Mission. — Paley's Views. — The Divine 
Heritage. — The Vitality of the Christian Religion. 

T^HE third great epoch in the evolution of the spiritual 
* man was inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth. In dis- 
cussing this branch of the subject, I shall not enter the field 
of controversial argument respecting his alleged miraculous 
birth or his resurrection from the dead. I leave that to the 
theologian who regards those questions as possessing vital 
importance from his point of view. From my standpoint 
they cannot be considered. Miracles can have no place in 
science ; for they can neither be scientifically verified nor 
experimentally reproduced. I have thus far confined my 
observations to the records of such psychic phenomena as 
can be verified by experimental reproduction ; and I shall 
continue to do so wherever the nature of the phenomena 
will admit of such demonstration. In the history of Jesus, 
however, there is much that cannot be specifically verified 
by experiment. His character and inherent attributes 
cannot be reproduced. We are not, however, without means 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 45 

of scientifically verifying his history in that regard, as will 
be seen later in this work. 

The phenomena which we are now called upon to consider 
differ in many essential particulars from those recorded in 
the Old Testament. The older prophets, as we have 
seen, were psychics who believed that they had the power 
to enter at will into tangible communion with God, and to 
receive from Him direct verbal communications. These 
phenomena, as I have pointed out, were identical with the 
phenomena of modern spiritism, differing only in the sugges- 
tion which gave character to the supposed communications. 
The God of the old prophets was, therefore, necessarily a 
reflection of their own personal characteristics. On the 
other hand, the God whom Jesus revealed to mankind was 
a conception so grand and lofty, as compared with that of 
the old prophets, that credulity has, in all the ages, been 
taxed in vain to identify the God of Abraham with the God 
of Jesus. This fact has been a stumbling-block to the sceptic 
or heretic for eighteen hundred years ; whereas, when the 
facts are understood, they will be found to present the strong- 
est possible internal evidence of the substantial truth of the 
essential portions of the historical part of both the Old and 
the New Testaments. Viewed as a series of psychic mani- 
festations, the gradual improvement in the God of Israel 
corresponds exactly with the natural progress of that race 
towards civilization, and the consequent evolution of the 
human mind and soul. That there was a sudden step in 
advance, of infinite magnitude and importance, does not 
militate against the theory of the evolution of the spiritual 
man through psychic phenomena. On the contrary, it will 
be found to confirm and emphasize that hypothesis. The 
great step in advance which Jesus made was the result, 
not of a cessation of psychic manifestations, but of a- radical 
change in their character. The conception of God which 
he evolved was not the result of verbal communications from 

10 



146 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

God, after the manner of the prophets, but was the result 
of the fact that he was endowed with the faculty of intuitive 
perception of the laws of the human soul. 

In order to understand fully the position which Jesus occu- 
pied in the psycho-religious world, it will be necessary briefly 
to discuss the above proposition. In " The Law of Pyschic 
Phenomena " I have discussed it at some length, and space 
can be given here for but a brief outline. 

History shows that from time to time there have been 
born into this world persons so exceptionally endowed by 
nature with intellectual powers in certain directions that 
they can be appropriately designated by no other term 
than that of " prodigies. 5 ' The phenomenal manifestations 
of these prodigies, however, are usually confined to some 
one sphere of mental activity. Thus, there are musical 
prodigies, prodigies in art, in poetry, in mathematics, etc., 
but seldom has one of them been known to be exception- 
ally endowed in more than one direction. The salient 
characteristic which is common to all is that each one ap- 
pears to be endowed with an intuitive perception of the laws 
of nature which pertain to his specialty. Thus, the musical 
prodigy intuitively perceives the laws pertaining to the har- 
mony of sounds ; the artistic prodigy intuitively perceives 
the laws of harmony of colors ; the mathematical prodigy 
perceives by intuition the laws of numbers. This faculty 
when once developed absolutely transcends reason or 
objective education. Neither the one nor the other has 
any part or lot in the production of the phenomenal results. 
Fortunately we have the means of verifying this proposition. 
Thus, one of the most phenomenal musical prodigies the 
world has ever known was both blind and idiotic from birth. 1 
Obviously, therefore, neither objective reason nor objective 
education could have played any part in his musical devel- 
opment. Yet he was able when a mere child to improvise 

1 Blind Tom. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 147 

excellent harmonies, and to reproduce a piece of music, 
once heard, with remarkable accuracy. Thus the proposi- 
tion is scientifically verified that he had the power of per- 
ception of the laws of nature which governed his specialty ; 
for there is no other way of accounting for the phenomena. 

Again, the mathematical prodigy, Zerah Colburn, men- 
tioned at length in " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," 1 be- 
fore he was objectively able to understand the powers of the 
nine digits could instantaneously solve intricate arithmetical 
problems. He was investigated and scientifically tested by 
the ablest scientists of Europe, who bear testimony to his 
prodigious powers. His answers were given so promptly 
that calculation was out of the question, even if he had been 
educated in the rules of arithmetic, which was not the case. 
Again we have a scientific verification of the facts related of 
him, and of the proposition that his powers were the result of 
intuition, in this, that (1) he developed his powers before 
he had studied arithmetic; (2) his answers were instanta- 
neously given ; (3) his answers were always correct. The 
last was, of course, the supreme test, for the reason that 
if they had not been correct they would not have been 
remarkable. 

Many other mathematical prodigies might be mentioned 
in this connection did space permit. Their phenomena are 
no more remarkable than those of prodigies in other sciences; 
but they are more valuable for purposes of generalization 
than any others, for the reason that they carry with them 
their own verification. Their answers, being accurate, 
demonstrate their powers of intuition ; and they also demon- 
strate the general proposition that the soul of man possesses 
the inherent power, under certain psychic conditions not 
yet clearly understood, to perceive by intuition the laws of 
Nature. 

This proposition conceded, it is easy to account for the 

1 See also " Memoir of Zerah Colburn. " 



I48 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

knowledge which Jesus possessed of those laws of Nature 
which pertain to the functions, powers, and destiny of 
the human soul. He had an intuitive perception of 
those laws, and his knowledge of them was undoubtedly 
as accurate as if it had been susceptible of mathematical 
verification. 

At this point it will be asked : " What evidence have we 
that Jesus was endowed with that power of intuition? " 
This is a most pertinent question, and, could it not be 
clearly and logically answered, we should be compelled at 
this point to abandon all scientific methods of inquiry into 
this subject. Fortunately the proofs are at hand which will 
settle that question beyond all possibility of reasonable 
doubt. 

In the first place, it must be remembered that Jesus was 
born and reared among a people who believed in and wor- 
shipped the God of x\braham and of Moses. Their ideas of 
God were based upon the purely anthropomorphic concep- 
tions of the Deity which had dominated the race from 
Abraham down. His education, therefore, other things 
being equal, was calculated to inspire him with the beliefs 
of his ancestors. But other things were not equal. He 
was exceptionally endowed, morally, as he was intellectually 
and psychically. He was infinitely above his race in every 
attribute which contributes towards human perfection. He 
may or he may not have entered the psychic state in order 
to hold communion with God, as did the prophets before 
him. It does not seem probable that he so acted, for there 
is nothing in his history that points to that conclusion. At 
the age of twelve he was able to dispute with the doctors in 
the Temple in his normal condition. But, even if he had 
entered the psychic condition for such a purpose, his con- 
ception of God would have been infinitely above that of 
the older prophets, and would still have constituted a 
mighty step in the evolution of spiritual humanity. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 149 

It is to the last degree improbable, however, that he ever 
entered the psychic state with the idea of receiving verbal 
communications from God. His conception of God was 
far too lofty for him to be led into the errors of his prede- 
cessors. His intuitive knowledge of the laws of the soul 
would of necessity prevent him from placing himself in a 
position where he could possibly be dominated by a false 
suggestion. The whole history of his life shows that he 
never allowed his subjective mind to usurp the throne of 
his reason. His Sermon on the Mount demonstrates his 
entire emancipation from the thraldom of precedent, and 
proclaims, inferentially, his realization of the finite character 
of the God of Moses. By his frequent repetition of the 
words, " Ye have heard it said by them of old time," etc., 
followed by his " But I say unto you/' etc., he placed in 
violent contrast the God of Moses and his own conception 
of the Deity, and of the duty of man towards his Creator 
and his fellow-men. He could have used no language that 
would have more utterly repudiated the Mosaic conception 
of the God who gave to Israel the imperfect code of ethics 
delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. That he did not pro- 
claim, in so many words, his knowledge of the human origin 
of the God "of old time," was doubtless due to that cau- 
tion which he so often evinced in speaking to the people 
in parables, and which was expressly stated to his disciples 
in the following memorable and significant words : M I have 
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them 
now." 1 

He gave to the people what they could readily assimilate, 
and he always refrained from unnecessarily antagonizing 
their ancient beliefs and prejudices. 

One of the strongest evidences of the intuitive character 
of his knowledge is found in his conception of the charac- 
ter and attributes of God. This, in connection with the 

1 John xvi. 12. 



ISO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

fact that he was the first to proclaim a conception of the 
Deity so lofty, so grand, and so ennobling, and at the same 
time in such perfect harmony with the highest instincts of 
all civilized humanity, constitutes a strong link in the chain 
of evidence to sustain that hypothesis. Born of a race 
whose highest conception of a Deity was of a being whose 
passions and weaknesses would degrade a savage, and whose 
highest purpose it was to protect a single tribe or race in no 
wise better than their neighbors, Jesus proclaimed a God 
of love, mercy, and benevolence, and promulgated a code 
of ethics for the guidance of the human race, the funda- 
mental principles of which were the universal brotherhood 
of man and the Fatherhood of God. That his code of 
ethics and morals, and his conceptions of the attributes of 
God, have never been and never can be improved upon, no 
one will undertake to deny. That they constitute strong 
evidence, not only that he was endowed with an intuitive 
perception of the laws pertaining to the subject-matter, but 
that his intuitions were correct, is evidenced by his undis- 
puted headship and by ample time-tests. 

The strongest evidence, however, of the fact that he pos- 
sessed the power of intuitive perception of the laws of the 
soul, consists in his physical manifestations. It is true that 
his miracles belong to a comparatively low order of psychic 
phenomena ; but it was absolutely necessary for him to dis- 
play his powers in some tangible form in order to impress 
his followers with a sense of his power and authority. 
"Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe," 
was a statement, made to the nobleman of Capernaum, of a 
pregnant fact. 1 It was a recognition of an existing condi- 
tion of the public mind with reference to him and his claim 
to divine authority. It was a proclamation of his purpose 

1 The learned Nicodemus (John iii. i) says: w We know that thou 
art a teacher come from God : for no man can do these miracles that 
thou doest except God be with him." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 151 

to satisfy the public demand \ and his wisdom was never 
more manifest than in his compliance with the popular 
desire to witness exhibitions of his power. For he not only 
gave to them the only proofs of his divine mission that they 
could appreciate, but by the same means he left a record of 
his works which now constitutes the only means we have of 
verifying his history. 

It is a singular fact in the history of the Christian religion 
that the circumstances and events in the life of Christ which 
have been the greatest stumbling-blocks of scientific scep- 
ticism for eighteen centuries, are, in this last quarter of the 
nineteenth century, found to be the only facts in his history 
which can be scientifically verified. The most potent 
assaults of scepticism have been made upon the record of 
his physical manifestations. Thousands who could have 
accepted without serious question the fact of his spiritual 
supremacy, who admired his code of morals and reverenced 
his exalted character, have derisively rejected the story of 
his miracles and ended in total scepticism. In a scientific 
age this was inevitable. The moment one begins to com- 
prehend the principles of induction, the moment one 
realizes the constancy of the forces of Nature and the im- 
mutability of her laws, that moment the seeds of scepticism 
are implanted in his mind, and miracles are relegated, in 
his philosophy, to the domain of fable or of superstition. 
The Church, in turn, has provoked this spirit of scepticism 
by constant iteration of the dogma that Christ wrought his 
wondrous works outside, and in defiance, of natural law. 
Fortunately for the Christian Church and for humanity, the 
scientific investigations of the last quarter of the nineteenth 
century have revealed the fact that the so-called miracles of 
Christ can be experimentally reproduced. Moreover, the 
laws which governed the production of his phenomena are 
beginning to be understood ; and some of the more impor- 
tant of them have been definitely formulated, and have been 



152 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

incorporated into the great body of modern science. Since 
that has been accomplished, it is suddenly recollected that 
Jesus himself never claimed to perform his works outside 
of natural law. On the contrary, he not only taught his 
Apostles how to reproduce his phenomena, but proclaimed 
to the world the essential conditions to their reproduction, 
and declared in so many words that those who observed 
those conditions should be able to do " even greater works " 
than he had done. Modern science has rediscovered the 
art of doing those works ; and it has formulated the con- 
ditions necessary to be observed. And it is just here, there- 
fore, that the most positive evidence of the essential truth 
of the history of Jesus of Nazareth is to be found. Consid- 
ering his physical manifestations as miracles, science must 
forever discredit his history. But when it is discovered 
that in the nineteenth century the lame can be made to 
walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, just as he did 
those things in the first century, science has no more right 
to discredit his history than it would have to dispute any 
other historical instance where the forces of Nature had 
been utilized ; a fortiori, where there was indubitable evi- 
dence of their intelligent utilization. This evidence we 
have in the history of Jesus, in that he minutely observed all 
the conditions that modern science has discovered to be neces- 
sary for the successful reproduction of his phenomena} 

It will thus be seen that the Christian religion forms no 
exception to the rule that all religions worthy of the name 
have their origin in psychic phenomena. 

Jesus himself was the most stupendous psychic phenome- 
non the world has ever seen. He was a colossal religious 
genius. Endowed with a perfect power of perception of all 
the laws of the human soul, he was enabled to formulate, 
and to promulgate to the world, a series of vital truths and 

1 For a full discussion of these points, the reader is referred to 
" The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 53 

principles which the most profound researches of inductive 
science can only verify. 

I have elsewhere defined " genius" as the result of the 
synchronous action of the objective and subjective faculties. 1 
History records the names and works of many men who 
have merited this designation to a certain extent. A few 
have given evidence that, in a purely intellectual sense, 
the synchronism was well-nigh perfect. Many have given 
occasional exhibitions of intellectual power which can be 
accounted for on no other hypothesis. History, however, 
furnishes us but one example of a man in whom the syn- 
chronism of development, physical, intellectual, psychical, 
and moral, was absolutely perfect. That man, it is needless 
to say, was Jesus of Nazareth. That Jesus was a psychic of 
most wonderful power, no one will gainsay, whatever may 
be his theories regarding his miraculous conception and 
birth; but he was, in many essential particulars, unlike any 
other psychic of whom we have any record. 

The ordinary psychic, in order to produce his phenomena, 
is compelled to enter the psychical or subjective condition. 
His objective faculties must be and remain in at least par- 
tial abeyance. In this condition his objective reason is 
dethroned and he is dominated by the power of suggestion. 
His phenomena will, therefore, necessarily take the form of 
whatever suggestion is uppermost in his mind ; whether it 
be an auto-suggestion arising from his preconceived opin- 
ions, as in spiritistic phenomena, or a suggestion from 
another, as in hypnotism. In any event, his objective reason 
is in abeyance, and consequently, if the suggestion is a false 
one, he is nevertheless dominated by it, and the resultant 
phenomena are necessarily incongruous and misleading. It 
is true that in the phonomena which are the products of 
what is known as " genius/' there often appears to exist a 
perfect synchronism of objective and subjective activity and 

1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. v. 



154 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

development. This, however, pertains only to purely intel- 
lectual manifestations ; and it is rarely, if ever, constant. 
But where this synchronism exists it has never been known, 
in modern times, to be accompanied by the power to pro- 
duce other psychic phenomena, especially physical manifes- 
tations. The latter, as before stated, are only produced, by 
the ordinary psychic, as a result of his entering the subjec- 
tive state, in which the objective faculties are held in partial 
or complete abeyance. 

In many of the foregoing particulars Jesus constituted an 
exception to the general rule. Not that he was exempt 
from the operation of the universal law governing psychic 
manifestations, but that he was, to a greater extent than any 
other psychic, harmoniously developed. In him the objec- 
tive and subjective faculties preserved, at all times and under 
all circumstances, an exquisitely harmonious balance. Hav- 
ing an intuitive perception of psychic laws, he was fully aware 
of the ill effects of their misdirected application. Knowing 
the limitations of the powers of the subjective mind, its 
amenability to control by suggestion, and its consequent 
inability to take the initiatory step in the process of induc- 
tion, he never allowed it to obtain control of the dual mental 
organization. Consequently, his reason was always in the 
ascendant ; and history does not record an instance where 
he entered the psychic state for any purpose whatever. 
Moreover, he never allowed himself to produce any phe- 
nomena for the mere purpose of displaying his powers. 
When he consented to exercise the powers of the soul, 
it was always for the purpose of accomplishing some 
good object ; albeit his primary object may have been to 
convince the people of his divine mission. Be this as 
it may, the fact remains that he never exercised his psychic 
powers except for the promotion of the highest good of 
those around him; and he never allowed himself to be 
placed in such a mental condition as to render it possible 
for him to be dominated by a false suggestion. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 55 

It will thus be seen that his wisdom was as strikingly 
displayed by what he refrained from doing as it was by 
what he did. Indeed, it will eventually be found, as 
knowledge of psychic laws increases, that one of the most 
valuable lessons which Jesus taught to mankind consisted in 
his abstention from any unnecessary display of his psychic 
powers. Knowing, as he did, the laws pertaining to the 
production of psychic phenomena, he carefully and con- 
sistently kept within the normal lines. The story of his 
three temptations in the wilderness was nothing more nor 
less than a symbolical presentation of this most important 
principle by which he was guided. Rightly interpreted, 
the story of the three temptations draws the line of de- 
marcation clearly and distinctly between the legitimate 
and the illegitimate — the normal and the abnormal — 
exercise of psychic power. 1 

Formally stated, the distinctive characteristics of the 
psychic powers and attributes of Jesus are as follows : — 

1. The first and most important mental characteristic 
which distinguished him from all other men of whom 
history has given any account, consisted in his intuitive 
perception of the laws which pertain to the human soul. 
I say that this was his most important mental endow- 
ment, for the reason that it was the essential prerequisite 
to all the others. It not only enabled him to " speak as 
never man spake," that is, with the authority of perfect 
knowledge ; but it enabled him to exercise the powers 
of the soul under the most favorable conditions. 

2. The next in importance of his distinctive endow- 
ments was his ability to exercise his psychic powers under 
normal physical conditions. No other psychic has ever 
been able to do this except to a very limited extent. 
This ability arose, not because he acted outside the 

1 For a fuller discussion of this proposition, see " The Law of 
Psychic Phenomena," ch. xxiv. 



156 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

domain of natural law, but from his perfect knowledge 
of the law. Other psychics have sometimes performed 
purely intellectual feats while in an apparently normal 
physical condition. Some have, under exceptionally favor- 
able circumstances, produced physical manifestations under 
apparently normal conditions. But such cases are sporadic, 
and only serve to emphasize the general rule that psychic 
manifestations are the result of abnormal physical con- 
ditions. Jesus was the only one, of whom we have any 
authenticated account, who never found it necessary to 
enter the subjective state to enable him to produce any 
psychic phenomena. 

3. As a result of his ability to exercise his psychic 
powers without entering the subjective state, he was 
enabled to avoid the operation of the law of suggestion, 
and, as a consequence, he was never dominated by a 
false suggestion. Objective reason, therefore, was always 
in the ascendant. Again it must be remarked that this 
does not imply that he was not subject to the law of 
suggestion; but that his knowledge of the law enabled 
him to avoid placing himself in that condition in which 
he would be dominated by it. It is in psychic science 
as in any other. If we know its laws we can avoid its 
evils. In other words, when we are dealing with a force, 
of the laws of which we have perfect knowledge, we are 
enabled to place ourselves in proper relations to it, and 
thus avoid the penalties attending the infraction of its 
laws. 

4. One of the most important of the distinctive charac- 
teristics of Jesus, as compared with other psychics, con- 
sisted in his perfect moral and religious character. This, 
in a certain sense, may be attributed to a perfect knowl- 
edge of the laws of the soul \ although due credit must 
be given to that innate altruism which was regnant in his 
character. Without attempting, however, to distinguish 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. I 57 

between what was the result of a perfect comprehension 
of spiritual laws and what was innate in his character, if 
indeed there is any line of distinction, it will be sufficient 
for our present purpose to discuss the former. As I have 
before remarked, the subjective mind or soul is the seat 
of the emotions. Every emotion, therefore, is a psychic 
phenomenon. Religious worship is an emotion that is 
inherent in every human soul. It is one of the higher 
instincts which differentiate the man from the brute. 
Morality is also an emotion when considered as a duty 
which man owes to his Creator, although, when practised 
solely with reference to one's relations to society and the 
commonwealth, it is the result of education. In its highest 
sense, therefore, morality is an emotion, cognate to religion, 
and, with the latter, must be considered as one of the 
phenomena of the soul. Religion and morality being phe- 
nomena or attributes of the soul, they necessarily have nor- 
mal relations to every other attribute of the soul. This being 
granted, it follows that one who possesses a perfect knowl- 
edge of the laws of the soul will be able to discern those 
normal relations, and, other things being equal, will seek to 
maintain them. This, then, was the distinctive charac- 
teristic of Jesus. He was a master of the science of the 
soul, and as such had a perfect knowledge of its attributes 
and powers, and of the normal relations which those attri- 
butes and powers sustain to each other, to humanity, and to 
the Creator. A perfect moral and religious character was 
necessarily the result. 

It will thus be seen that, as before remarked, the Chris- 
tian religion forms no exception to the general rule that 
every religion worthy of the name has its origin in psychic 
phenomena. Previous to the time of Jesus, the phenomena 
were grossly misinterpreted. Nevertheless, they contained 
the germs of the monotheistic idea, which was perfected by 
one who never misinterpreted the phenomena of the soul, 



158 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian religion not only had its 
origin in psychic phenomena, but that was the only means 
by which it was, or could be, brought to the knowledge of 
mankind. The words of Jesus would have been lost, and 
his mission a failure, had he not been endowed with the 
power to produce phenomena tangible to the senses of the 
people. It was by this means alone that he was able to 
impress upon the world a realization of this divine mission. 
Paley himself declares this fact in these words : — 

" That this particular person, Jesus of Nazareth, ought to be 
received as the Messiah, or as a messenger from God, they [the 
Apostles] neither had, nor could have, anything but miracles 
to stand upon." l 

It was by the miracles that Jesus was enabled to impress 
upon his followers a sense of his power, and of his author- 
ity as a messenger of truth. And what was true of his 
immediate followers is largely true of the Church from that 
day to the present. It matters not that the so-called 
miracles were misinterpreted psychic phenomena. They 
were not misinterpreted by Jesus himself; for he never 
claimed that he performed his works outside the domain of 
natural law. On the contrary, he distinctly proclaimed the 
fact that others could do even greater things than he had 
done by complying with the conditions which he prescribed. 
It would have been idle for him to attempt to explain to his 
followers the underlying scientific principles which enabled 
him to produce his phenomena ; for no one of his day was 
capable of comprehending them. Moreover, if he could 
have succeeded in convincing them that he did not tran- 
scend the laws of Nature in the performance of his miracles, 
it would have weakened their confidence in his divine mis- 
sion ; for the people of that day were incapable of grasping 

1 Evidences of Christianity, ch. x. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 59 

the idea that God could possibly display his power in any 
other way than by some signal violation of his own laws. 

It will thus be seen that the Christian religion not only 
had its inception in psychic phenomena, but that faith in it 
has been perpetuated largely by a misapprehension of the 
real significance of the psychic manifestations of Jesus. If, 
however, the miracles alone had constituted the evidence of 
the truth of Christianity, it would have long since perished 
as a system of religion. For no system of religion which is 
founded upon a fundamental error can long withstand the 
assaults of scientific scepticism, in an enlightened age and 
nation, where truth is left free to combat error. In a prim- 
itive age a claim to supernatural power may serve to impose 
almost any system of religion upon a people. In an 
enlightened age such a claim is an element of weakness ; 
and a theology founded upon that alone must eventually 
perish and be forgotten. The assaults of scepticism upon 
the Christian religion have been almost exclusively upon the 
dogma of supernaturalism ; and had its claims to a divine 
origin rested alone upon that, it must have yielded to the 
first onslaught of scientific scepticism. That it has sus- 
tained the shock of scientific criticism, and is still a great 
and growing power in the most enlightened age the world 
has ever seen, and is now the most potential force in the 
social systems of the most enlightened nations of the earth, 
is indubitable evidence that it possesses an inherent vitality 
that must be looked for outside the domain of the super- 
natural. In the ensuing chapter I propose briefly to 
inquire into the secret of the wonderful vitality of the 
Christian religion. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF TRUTH. 

Books that thrill the Reader with Pleasurable Emotions. — Theories 
to account for it. — Literary Style. — Personal Magnetism. — The 
Soul's Love of Truth. — Books Popular in proportion to their / 
Truth. — The Scriptures. — The Philosophy of Jesus. — Intuitional 
Perception of its Truth. — Evolution of Religion. — Christianity 
the Final Goal. — The Impossibility of improving upon True 
Christianity. — The Absolute Religion. 



TT has often been remarked by intelligent readers of 
* books that some authors have a faculty of impressing 
their personality upon their literary productions ; so that 
one experiences, when reading them, a thrill of pleasure 
and satisfaction akin to that felt when listening to an orator 
who possesses what is known as great " personal magnet- 
ism." Some have attributed this feeling wholly to the 
literary style of the author ; whilst others, more prone to 
suspect that an occult force is concealed behind every 
phenomenon, have held that the " personal magnetism " of 
every author is, in some inexplicable way, impressed upon 
the pages of his book. It seems obvious that neither of 
these explanations can possibly be the true one. 

The first cannot be true, for the reason that it often 
happens that works which create the deepest impression 
upon mankind are written in a very unattractive style ; 
whilst other works leave no lasting impression upon the 
minds of their readers, although couched in terms of 
faultless elegance. The second explanation is defective, 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. l6l 

even to absurdity ; for whatever occult force, personal 
magnetism, or psychometric or telepathic impression might 
be supposed to accompany an author's personal manuscript, 
it is obvious that it could not be transmitted to the printed 
page which the author never saw or handled. Besides, it 
often happens that editions of an author's works are printed 
hundreds of years after he is dead ; but it has never been 
noted that the element of so-called " personal magnetism" 
diminishes in force or intensity as the editions of his works 
are multiplied. The thrill of satisfaction which every man 
of intelligence feels when reading the lines of Shakespeare 
is not diminished in intensity as the years go by ; nor does 
it suffer any appreciable change since it has been claimed 
that they were written by the " greatest, wisest, meanest of 
mankind." It is evident, therefore, that we must seek else- 
where than in elegance of diction or personal magnetism 
for an explanation of the secret of the permanent popularity 
of a book. 

Broadly speaking, a book is permanently popular in 
proportion to the amount of truth it contains. Works of 
fiction constitute no exception to this rule ; for our appre- 
ciation of a novel is in exact proportion to the fidelity to 
nature with which its characters are portrayed. What is 
true of a work of fiction is necessarily true of a work pro- 
fessing to deal with facts, as in history, or with principles, 
as in science, in philosophy, or in religion. 

The love of truth is inherent in the normal human soul, 
and its recognition of truth is instinctive. This in itself 
constitutes a psychic phenomenon of the utmost impor- 
tance ; and it is one which must enter as a factor into every 
correct diagnosis of the attributes of the psychic entity. It 
is this instinctive perception or recognition of truth when it 
is presented that gives rise to that emotional thrill of pleas- 
ure and satisfaction which one experiences when reading 
the statement of a vital truth. It is the soul's response to 

ii 



1 62 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

a suggestion which is in accord with its own deductions 
from the facts of its own experience. In this connection it 
must be remembered that the memory of the subjective 
mind is perfect, and that its power of deductive reasoning 
is also perfect. It is, however, devoid of the power of 
induction proper, being constantly amenable to control by 
suggestion. When, therefore, a suggestion is imparted to it 
that corresponds to its own deductions, it instantly recog- 
nizes its truth and responds with a thrill of pleasurable 
emotion. This emotion alone is indubitable evidence that 
it is a purely subjective experience, since the subjective 
mind or soul is the seat of the emotions as well as the 
storehouse of memory. 

This phenomenon is experienced in a greater or less 
degree upon the perusal of any book which contains what 
the reader recognizes as truth ; and the intensity of the 
emotion experienced is in proportion to his estimate of the 
degree of importance to be attached to it as affecting him- 
self. For the purpose of this inquiry, however, books must 
be divided into two general classes. Those which treat of 
temporal affairs belong to one class, and those which deal 
with questions pertaining to the attributes, powers, and 
destiny of the soul belong to the other. Those belonging 
to the first class never produce the phenomenon proper of 
which we speak. Such books may be never so interesting 
or important to the temporal well-being of man, yet they 
rarely, if ever, produce other than a purely intellectual 
enjoyment. 

On the other hand, that which pertains to the soul is 
taken cognizance of by the soul, which is moved to emo- 
tion, pleasurable or otherwise, just in proportion to its 
recognition of the vital truths which a book contains. By 
this it is not meant to convey the implication that the emo- 
tions experienced on reading a book are infallible standards 
of truth. On the contrary, our subjective perception of 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 63 

truth is oftentimes neutralized by our objective perceptions 
or prejudices, or from those primordial anterior suggestions 
arising from fixed habits of thought or moral principles. 
But truth possesses an inherent vitality which no amount 
of error can wholly extinguish. In the long run truth must 
prevail, in spite of passion and prejudice. Hence it is that 
books which contain vital truths, however modest their pre- 
tensions or homely their style, will be enshrined and live 
forever in the hearts of their readers, whilst the more pre- 
tentious volume, devoid of the vitalizing element of truth, 
though adorned with all the perfections which learning and 
eloquence may impart, makes no permanent impression 
upon the souls of men, and is soon forgotten by the intel- 
lectual world. 

The faculty of perceiving those truths which affect the 
human soul is inherent in the soul, although it is in rare 
cases only that it is largely developed in any one individual. 
Jesus was probably the only man who was endowed with 
this faculty in perfection ; that is, he was the only one, of 
whose life we have any record, who possessed the power of 
independent perception of the laws of the soul. Others 
possess that power only in the limited sense that they are 
able to grasp and comprehend the truth when it is pre- 
sented to them. But in that sense it is so generally diffused 
among mankind that in the aggregate it must be counted as 
a most important factor in the social, moral, and religious 
world ; and in an enlightened community it prevents any 
radical misconception of the fundamental principles of 
morality and religion. 

The intelligent reader will have anticipated me in what 
I am to say regarding the practical application of these 
observations to the fundamental principles of the Christian 
religion. It seems to me, that is to say, that the fact that 
Christianity still exists as a system of religion, is evidence, 
little short of demonstrative, that it is founded upon the 



164 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

true science of the human soul. It is certainly the strongest 
possible corroborative evidence of the truth of the claim 
that Jesus correctly expounded the laws of the soul in its 
relations to the divine intelligence. There can be no other 
rational explanation of the pregnant fact that the Christian 
religion has survived the assaults of its enemies for nearly 
nineteen hundred years, and is still the religion of the most 
enlightened nations of the earth. It has not only survived 
the assaults of its enemies, but it flourishes in spite of the 
mistakes of its friends. If it had not been founded upon 
the rock of Eternal Truth, it might have temporarily im- 
bibed a vitalizing inspiration from the opposition of con- 
flicting religions, but it never could have survived the 
proselyting methods of Charlemagne, the zeal of the Inqui- 
sition, or the dogma of plenary inspiration. 

It is safe to say that no system of religion has ever flour- 
ished amidst so many adverse conditions as has the Chris- 
tian religion. It had its roots in a region remote from the 
centres of civilization, and among a nomadic race, who 
were poor, and despised and reprobated and persecuted 
by their more powerful neighbors. From the first it en- 
countered the refined philosophy of the most enlightened 
nations of the earth, and it has been engaged in stubborn 
conflict with all the material science of modern civilization. 
It has its literary setting in a volume which teaches an 
absurd astronomy, an impossible geography, and a cos- 
mogony the crudeness of which is detected and exposed 
by the learning of every school-boy. 

And yet it exists, not in decrepitude and decay, but as a 
vital element in every civilization worthy of the name. Its 
votaries have thrust it into conflict with every science, and 
it has been defeated in every encounter. Yet it is not 
relegated to the domain of ignorance, but flourishes in the 
greatest luxuriance of growth and vitality in those nations 
whose people are the most enlightened and progressive. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 65 

* 

That there is to be found, within the realm of natural 
causes, some good and sufficient reason for this apparent 
paradox, is not to be doubted. The explanation afforded 
by the doctrine of a continuous miracle must be regarded 
as scientifically untenable. It seems to me that the follow- 
ing propositions afford at least a partial solution of the 
problem : — 

i. Jesus Christ was endowed with the faculty of intuitional 
perception of the natural laws of the human soul ; and he 
proclaimed to mankind, in a few simple propositions, the 
essential principles which govern the relationship of man to 
his fellow-man and to God. 

2. All men are endowed with the same intuitional powers, 
differing only in degree ; and by this means they are 
enabled to recognize, when once presented, any truth which 
is essential to the welfare of the human soul. 

3. It follows that, when one reads the simple but all- 
comprehensive philosophy of Jesus, his soul intuitively and 
instantaneously recognizes its essential truth. 

This is what has been, by the Church, vaguely denomi- 
nated a " spiritual perception of religious truth," — a phrase 
which describes the emotion correctly enough, but which 
has never itself been scientifically or philosophically ex- 
plained. When the emotion of religious worship, which is 
an inherent attribute of every normally developed human 
soul, is taken into consideration, it will be readily under- 
stood why it is that the Bible affords consolation to such a 
vast multitude of the human race. It is not alone the 
words of Jesus which proclaim religious truth, but scattered 
all through both the New Testament and the Old may be 
found passages innumerable upon which is stamped the 
sign-manual of eternal truth. Variable and diverse as are 
the emotions and aspirations, the spiritual wants and 
necessities of aggregate humanity, there may be found in 
the Scriptures something to fit every case, something to 



1 66 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

pour the balm of consolation into every stricken breast, 
something to inspire every human heart with hope ; in 
short, in its power of adaptation to all the experiences of 
human consciousness, the Bible is unequalled by any other 
production, human or divine. 

The philosophy of Jesus, however, constitutes the chief 
corner-stone of the whole superstructure. It is that which 
imparts vitality to the whole body of religious doctrine con- 
tained in the Bible, which but for that philosophy would 
have long since yielded to the assaults of scientific scepticism. 
But vital truth can never be wholly obliterated, however 
thickly it may be overlaid with error. It may be tempo- 
rarily obscured, but the intuitive powers of the soul are safe 
guides to its recognition wherever found. Hence it is that 
the Christian religion has never lost its inherent vitality 
amidst the adverse influences with which it has been 
surrounded, but constitutes the essential vitalizing force in 
the civilization of every enlightened nation. 

I do not undertake to say that these facts constitute con- 
clusive proofs of the truth of the doctrines of Jesus ; but, 
from a logical and scientific standpoint, it cannot be 
doubted that they constitute presumptive evidence that, in 
its essential features, his philosophy bears the impress of 
truth. I certainly know of no other way of accounting for 
the hold which the Christian religion has upon the mind 
and heart of civilized humanity, than to suppose that it is 
the aggregate result of the inherent power of man to 
recognize truth by intuition. It is certainly an adequate 
explanation, and, in the absence of a better one, we are 
logically driven to its provisional acceptance. 

Here, then, we find another psychic phenomenon of the 
most stupendous proportions and of the most far-reaching 
significance ; for it is participated in by all Christendom, 
and the subject-matter involves the most momentous prob- 
lems of human life ; indeed, it may be added that the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. \6j 

ethical doctrines of Jesus are universally accepted wherever 
they are known, whether in Christian or in pagan lands. 
This part of his teachings may be summed up in these 
words : The universal brotherhood of man, charity for the 
poor and unfortunate, peace on earth, and love and good- 
will to all mankind. No one disputes the soundness of 
these principles, or doubts their universal practicability as a 
code of ethics for all humanity. Jesus was the first to teach 
them in their entirety. The Golden Rule, it is true, was 
formulated many years before the birth of Christ ; but the 
idea of mankind as constituting one universal brotherhood, 
the children of one God, was his ; and so was the doctrine 
of charity, peace, love, and good-will. It was these doctrines 
that first broke down the barrier between the Jews and the 
Gentiles and between the black and the white, and that 
has since struck off the shackles from untold millions of 
slaves, mitigated the cruelties of war, promoted the arts and 
sciences, justice and benevolence, freedom and good govern- 
ment, and established as the chief corner-stone of our 
civilization the idea of the sanctity of human life and the 
inalienability of human liberty. 

What I have said of the ethical doctrines of Jesus applies 
with almost equal force to his whole system of religion. 
His fundamental idea of the Fatherhood of God, and his 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul, when added to the 
ethical principles before mentioned, may be said to consti- 
tute the essential features of his whole system of ethics, 
morals and religion. And it will not be denied that, as a 
whole, they appeal strongly to the unperverted intuitions of 
all mankind. Indeed, there is practically but one of his 
doctrines that has ever been seriously disputed \ namely, 
that of the immortality of the soul. No one disputes the 
existence of a higher power to which all things are subject. 
The differences of opinion concerning that power are 
merely different conceptions of its attributes. Pantheism is 



1 68 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

but a variety of theism, and atheism really exists only in name. 
Science has disputed the doctrine of immortal life largely 
because it has been asked to accept it on faith alone ; that 
is to say, because the proofs offered have been inadequate 
from the standpoint of material science. It is, nevertheless, 
true that the human soul instinctively recognizes the truth 
of every essential doctrine that Jesus promulgated. 

I have spoken in previous chapters of the " evolution of 
the spiritual man." It would have been equally appropriate 
to designate the various epochs I have mentioned, as steps 
in the evolution of religion; for they are but different 
aspects of the same subject-matter. Considered as steps 
in the evolution of spiritual humanity, the process still goes 
on, and must go on until perfection is reached, until all 
humanity reaches the altitude of spiritual development at- 
tained by Jesus himself. Indeed, the evolution of the 
spiritual man is, in one sense, but a step in the great 
process of organic evolution. It is the final step in that 
process of development which began in protoplasm and 
culminated in man. I say " culminated in man ; " for the 
same process of reasoning, the same series of phenomena, 
which demonstrates the scientific truth of the doctrine of 
organic evolution, proclaims man as the highest creature 
that can ever have an existence on this earth, — as the goal 
towards which Nature tended from the beginning. Having 
attained that altitude, the process of zoological change came 
to an end, and henceforth the dominant aspect of evolution 
is, and must henceforth be, in the direction of intellectual 
and spiritual progress and development. 

Considered as steps in the evolution of religion, the 
same series of phenomena which we have been considering 
culminated in the religion which Jesus taught. And that 
was the end of what may be termed the organic evolution 
of religion. It reached its highest possible altitude in the 
simple but grand and all-comprehensive code embraced in 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 69 

Christianity. By the term " Christianity " I do not meari" 
that vast mass of theological doctrine evolved by Augustine, 
Athanasius, Clement, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian ; nor do 
I refer in the remotest degree to that mass of dogma so 
ingeniously aggregated by the lesser lights of later years, 
which has usurped the title of Christianity. I mean the 
pure and simple code of morals, ethics, and religion — the 
real and essential Christianity — which fell from the lips of 
the man of Nazareth. I repeat, that was the end of the 
evolution of religion on this earth ; for in that code perfec- 
tion was attained. No one has ever succeeded in improv- 
ing upon it. No one has ever been able to conceive a 
higher standard. We hear much of " the religion of hu- 
manity " from those who would free themselves from the 
restraints of the creeds and dogmas of the Church ; but 
the " religion of humanity" owes its principles to Jesus, 
and to him alone ; and the highest ideals of altruism find 
their realization in the same perfect character. Says Renan : 

" Jesus founded the absolute religion, excluding nothing, de- 
termining nothing, save its essence. . . . The foundation of the 
true religion is indeed his work, After him there is nothing 
more but to develop and fructify." x 

The only attempt that has ever been made to find a 
vulnerable point in the doctrines of Jesus has been in the 
form of a declaration that the ethics of the Sermon on the 
Mount " are too good for this world." It may be true that 
some of his precepts are impracticable in the present state 
of civilization. It may be that the meek shall not inherit 
the earth for many long years to come. But the process of 
the evolution of humanity towards a higher civilization has 
not yet ceased ; and we may rest assured that the time is 
approaching when there will be universal " peace on earth 
and good- will to all mankind." The religion of Jesus is 
for all time to come. It is the religion of the poor and the 

1 Life of Jesus. 



170 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

lowly, and it is adapted to the highest civilization conceiv- 
able by man. It is the final religion of humanity ; and though 
the earth in the fulness of time may pass away, his w r ords 
shall not pass away. This is why I have remarked that the 
evolution of religion ceased when Jesus promulgated his 
doctrines. It had attained perfection ; and that is all that 
evolution can do. It is true that his teachings have been 
misunderstood and perverted, and for many long years the 
evolution of religion has progressed backward. A vast 
system of theology has been erected, ostensibly upon the 
foundation w 7 hich he laid, — a theology much of which bears 
no resemblance to true Christianity. But this was because 
man was, as he still is, imperfect. As civilization progresses, 
however, man will be released from the thraldom of creed 
and dogma, and revert to the pure and simple code of the 
man of Nazareth. " For other foundation can no man lay 
than that is laid." * " After him there is nothing more but 
to develop and fructify.'' 

As in the organic world the highest possible type is man, 
so in the religious world the highest possible type is Chris- 
tianity ; and all future evolution of man or of religion 
must be in the direction of a higher civilization, — a more 
perfect manhood, with all that the name implies. 

1 I Corinthians iii. n. 



CHAPTER X. 

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 

Spiritistic Phenomena among the Early Christians. — Testimony of 
the Christian Fathers. — The Departure from Jesus' Example. — 
Paul's Explanation of Spiritistic Phenomena. — John's Tests. — 
Paul's Ecstatic. — The Oriental Ecstatics. — Modern Occidental 
Ecstatics. — Alleged Perception of Divine Truth in the Ecstatic 
Condition. — Neither Jesus 3 Paul, nor John believed in Spiritism. 
— Primitive Christianity promoted by Psychic Phenomena. — Con- 
stantine. — The Priesthood. — Prohibition of Psychic Manifesta- 
tions among the Laity. — The Beneficence of the Inhibition. 

IT would be interesting and perhaps profitable to trace the 
* history of psychic phenomena from the time of Jesus 
down through the dark ages, and to note its influence upon 
the Christian Church both before and after the days of 
Constantine. But, fortunately for the common people, the 
production of the phenomena, after the first three hundred 
years of primitive Christianity, was confined largely to the 
priesthood, — that body having set up a claim to the exclusive 
right to work miracles, by virtue of their claim to the apos- 
tolic succession. The result of this was that its production 
was diverted to vastly different uses from those contem- 
plated by the Master, and its history is, consequently, so 
contorted and obscured that it would be difficult to separate 
the genuine from the spurious. 

It will be comparatively easy, however, to discover the 
influence which psychic manifestations exerted upon the 
early Christians, and to speculate with some degree of 



172 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

accuracy upon the effect which phenomena cognate to if 
not identical with those of modern spiritism had upon the 
destinies of the Church and the character of its teachings \ 
but, in a work like the present, even this can be but briefly 
alluded to. 

It is well known that such phenomena began to be pro- 
duced among the early Christians almost immediately after 
the Crucifixion, and continued to be a salient feature of 
Church customs, certainly until the days of Constantine. 
This fact is abundantly attested by the writings of the early 
Christian Fathers, healing of the sick by the laying on of 
hands being one of the most common of the manifestations 
of psychic power. This power was not then confined to any 
one class or rank, but was possessed by all who observed 
the conditions prescribed by the Master. The physical 
condition necessary for the most successful work of this 
kind being identical with that required for the production 
of other phenomena, it soon became a common practice to 
go through with the whole repertoire of what are now known 
as spiritistic phenomena. Saint Paul himself mentions a 
long list of such phenomena which were produced in his 
day ; * and Ignatius has this to say, — 

" Some in the Church most certainly have a knowledge of 
things to come. Some have visions, others utter prophecies, 
and heal the sick by laying on of hands; and others still 
speak in many tongues, bringing to light the secret things of 
men [telepathy] and expounding the mysteries of God." 

Saint Anthony declared that, after fasting, he had often 
been surrounded by bands of angels, " and joyfully joined in 
singing with them." Tatian declares that " our virgins at 
the distaff utter divine oracles, see visions, and sing the 
holy words that are given them," being " full of the faith 
in Christ." Tertullian relates the case of a sister in the 

1 See 1 Corinthians xii. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 73 

Church, who, when entranced, was able to see spirits \ ami 
Montannas affirms with great emphasis that prophecies, 
the power to heal the sick, " tongues and visions, are the 
divine inheritance of the true Christian." These statements 
are amply confirmed by Apollinaris, Barnabas, Clement, 
Cyprian, Lactantius, Papias, and others. It was a common 
event in these manifestations for their psychics to hold 
alleged communication with the angels; and Tertullian 
declares that, during religious services, they became en- 
tranced, and sometimes " beheld Jesus himself, heard the 
divine mysteries explained," and " read the hearts " of those 
present. 

It is almost superfluous to observe that these manifesta- 
tions were identical with the so-called spirit manifestations of 
the present day. But it is worth while to note the fact that 
not one of them was authorized or countenanced by Jesus, 
with the single exception of that of healing the sick. This is 
a most significant fact, and it is demonstrative evidence that 
he discountenanced the practice, knowing, as only he could 
know, that communication with spirits was impossible. He 
knew the laws governing all such manifestations, and it is 
to the last degree improbable that he would have neglected 
to instruct his followers in the art of spirit intercourse, if by 
that means they could have been put into communication 
with intelligences capable of " explaining the divine mys- 
teries." It is also to the last degree improbable that one 
whose mission it was to " bring life and immortality to light " 
would have neglected so glorious an opportunity to demon- 
strate the truth of his teachings, and to point out a means 
by which his disciples could hold communion not only 
with angels and ministers of grace, but with himself after he 
had ascended to the Father. His whole life and career was 
a living protest against that species of psychism wherein 
the prophets assumed to have direct verbal communication 
with God, and others claimed to hold communion with 



174 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

J 

spirits of the dead ; the latter, however, being denounced 

as witchcraft by the Mosaic law and punished with death. 
Is it not probable and in keeping with the whole character 
and the career — the mission — of Christ, which was to 
teach spiritual truth to mankind, that, if communication 
with spirits of the dead had been possible, and if it had been 
that beneficent practice which modern spiritists would have 
us believe it to be, he would have in some way indicated 
to us his approval of such practices? If it is true that 
spirits of the dead can communicate with the living inhabi- 
tants of this world, he knew it. If it is true, it is important 
for us to know it ; for that would be demonstrative of a 
^future life. If it is demonstrative of a future life, he would 
surely have informed us of the fact, and would have enjoined 
upon mankind a diligent cultivation of the art of spirit inter- 
course. It was his mission to teach the doctrine of immor- 
tality. It was his desire and purpose to demonstrate the 
fact of immortality ; and he accomplished his object so far 
as it was possible for him to do so in the age in which he 
lived. He has left a record which gives us indubitable 
evidence of his perfect knowledge of the laws of the human 
soul. He has left a record demonstrative of his perfect 
character and of his zeal for the promulgation of spiritual 
truth. He offered up his life as a sacrifice upon the altar of 
spiritual truth. The spirit of altruism was regnant in his 
whole character ; but if there was one thing more than an- 
other wherein that spirit was manifest, it was in his desire 
to teach to mankind the fact of immortality. It is simply 
a monstrous absurdity to suppose that, if it was possible to 
communicate with departed souls, he deliberately neglected 
so grand an opportunity to demonstrate the truth of the 
essential doctrine which it was his mission to bring to light ; 
and that it was left for hysterical women of the nineteenth 
century, aided and abetted by convulsive furniture, to teach 
us "the way, the truth, and the life." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 75 

It is impossible to suppose that he was not aware of the 
psychic manifestations of his day, and of the current theory 
of their origin. 

" The group," says Renan, " that pressed around him upon 
the banks of the Lake of Tiberias believed in spectres and 
spirits. Great spiritual manifestations were frequent. All 
believed themselves to be inspired in different ways." 

But there is no record to show that he did more than to 
tolerate the current beliefs. He did not sanction them 
either by precept or by example \ much less did he encour- 
age them by advancing the idea that the phenomena pro- 
ceeded from disembodied spirits. On the contrary, his 
whole life was a protest against such beliefs and such prac- 
tices. By precept and example he taught the world that 
healing the sick was the only legitimate use of psychic power ; 
and the lesson of his three temptations in the wilderness is 
that neither for bread, nor for glory, nor for power, nor for 
emolument, can psychic power be legitimately exercised 
outside of the limitations which he prescribed. 

After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Saint Paul 
appears to have been tolerant of the psychic manifestations 
which soon became common in the Church, doubtless for 
the reason that it was, ir that primitive and superstitious 
age, an element of strength. It enabled Christianity to 
become an aggressive power, carrying with it what was sup- 
posed to be demonstrative proofs of its divine source in the 
form of phenomena the supermundane origin of which in 
that day could not be successfully denied. To the credit of 
Saint Paul, however, it must be remarked that he not only 
had a very clear perception of the true origin of the phenom- 
ena, but he took pains to place on record a statement of his 
convictions. Paul was a learned man, filled to saturation 
with the philosophies of the civilized world ; and although 
he sometimes injected some of his Greek philosophy into 
that of Jesus, yet he was a man who could not be deceived 



176 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

as to the true origin of the spiritistic manifestations ; and he 
took particular pains, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, 
to disabuse their minds of the idea that the phenomena 
which at the time appear to have constituted a salient feature 
of Christian worship, had their origin in spirits of the dead. 
In the first eleven verses of the twelfth chapter of first 
Corinthians he discourses as follows : — 

" Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have 
you ignorant. 

" Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these 
dumb idols, even as ye were led. 

" Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking 
by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed : and that no man 
can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 

" Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 

" And there are differences of administrations, but the same 
Lord. 

"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
God which worketh all in all. 
""" " But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to 
profit withal. 

" For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to 
another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit ; 

"To another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts 
of healing by the same Spirit ; 

" To another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; 
to another, discerning of spirits ; to another, divers kinds of 
tongues ; to another, the interpretation of tongues ; 

"But all these worketh that one and the^selfsame Spirit, 
dividing to every man severally as he will." 

It would thus appear that Paul had formulated a working 
hypothesis regarding all spiritistic phenomena, the essential 
features of which were, first, the repudiation of the prevalent 
idea that the different manifestations of spirit control arose 
from communion with a corresponding number of disem- 
bodied spirits ; second, the broad assertion that all such 
phenomena proceeded from the same source, namely, the 
spirit of God manifest in and through that part of Him 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 77 

which constitutes the soul of the psychic who produced the 
phenomena. There is, however, one phrase in the fore- 
going quotation which requires a word to make it clear; 
namely, "to another, the discerning of spirits." This has 
been held to imply an acknowledgment by Paul of the ex- 
istence of the power to see spirits. This confusion arises 
from a mistranslation of the text. Instead of " discerning," 
which implies the exercise of the physical function of see- 
ing, the word should be discrimination^ which implies 
merely the mental faculty of sound judgment. With this 
view of the case, it would seem that the power of dis- 
crimination, when applied to the divers gifts and manifesta- 
tions mentioned in the context, was the most desirable of 
the whole repertoire ; especially when we take into consid- 
eration "the diversities of gifts," "the differences of admin- 
istrations," and the " diversities of operations," together 
with the law of suggestion, which was just as potent a factor 
in their psychic phenomena as it is in ours. John, however, 
greatly simplified the process of "discrimination" in such 
matters. The following comprises his formula : — 

" Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether 
they are of God ; because many false prophets are gone out into 
the world. 

" Hereby know ye the Spirit of God : Every spirit that con- 
fessed that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God : 

" And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is 
come in the flesh, is not of God. And this is that spirit of anti- 
christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even 
now already is it in the world." 

Thus it will be seen that John was in perfect accord with 
Paul in his method of " discrimination of spirits." In this 
connection it may be well to remark that the phrase " try 
the spirits " has often been held to imply that John was a 
believer in spiritism. But it is obvious that he employed 

1 See Rotherhanrs Literal Translation, 

12 



178 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

the word in a sense that does not warrant such an inference. 
He mentions but two spirits ; namely, the spirit that is of 
God, and the " spirit of antichrist." This clearly indicates 
that he employed the term to designate a mental condition 
or disposition, — an intellectual or moral state, and not a 
disembodied soul. Indeed, the one definition necessarily 
excludes the other. Moreover, on general principles it may 
be definitely affirmed that John was not a believer in spirit 
communications from the other world ; for he was a disciple 
of Jesus, and had imbibed instruction from the fountain- 
head. Spiritists, both ancient and modern, are fully per- 
suaded that they are in complete possession of accurate 
knowledge of the world to come and of the general internal 
economy of Heaven. On the other hand, Jesus did not 
pretend to know; or if he did, he consistently refrained 
from imparting that information to his followers, except in 
the most general terms, which will be noted hereinafter. 
Hence it was that John, notwithstanding his intimacy with 
the Master, was forced to confess that he knew nothing of 
what is in store for us on the other side. " It doth not yet 
appear," said he, "what we shall be; but we know that, 
when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see 
him as he is." 2 

Saint Paul has also been accused of spiritism, the accusa- 
tion being based upon the passage wherein he says, — 

" I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether 
in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot 
tell [i. e. whether his soul left the body or not]: God know- 
eth ; ) such an one was caught up to the third heaven. 

" And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the 
body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ; ) 

" How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard un- 
speakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." 2 

Those who are acquainted with the literature of ec stasis 
will readily understand that Paul was describing a person 
1 1 John iii. 2. 2 2 Corinthians xii. 2-4. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 79 

who was in that psychic condition known as " ecstasy." It 
is a state of profound hypnosis, the deepest that can be 
produced with safety to the subject, and the consequent 
phenomena depends, as in all other grades of hypnotism, 
upon the dominant suggestion in the mind of the subject 
when he enters the state. It is frequently self-induced, 
especially among the East Indian adepts and Yogis, many 
of whom spend the greater part of their lives in that condi- 
tion, or for preparing themselves for entering it. They 
induce it by sitting in one attitude for an indefinite length 
of time and thinking about themselves ; the latter part of 
the process being by them denominated " introspection." 
By this means a state of profound hypnotism is induced, 
accompanied by an equally profound and all-comprehensive 
egotism, the result aimed at being what is known in their 
vocabulary as " illumination." This state of " illumination " 
appears to be the culmination of the ecstatic condition ; that 
is, they have reached a point where egotism can go no 
farther. It is then that they identify themselves with the 
forces of Nature, and imagine that they can thunder and 
produce earthquakes and other cataclysms, and that they 
are in possession of all knowledge and power and all 
dominion. 

It may be remarked, in passing, that upon this phenomenon 
is based the Oriental claim to superior knowledge of science 
and of the laws of Nature which is so confidently set up by 
those self-immolated victims of subjective hallucination. It 
is this mental condition, entered into in utter and profound 
ignorance of the fundamental law which governs all psychic 
phenomena, that gives rise to their lofty contempt for West- 
ern science and civilization. They never tell us what they 
have seen or what spiritual secrets they have penetrated in 
this state of " illumination," but declare that "the world is 
not ready to receive it," etc., etc., and bid us wait until 
they decide that the time is auspicious for them to yield up 



ISO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

the sum total of the secrets of Nature. About the cosmog- 
ony of the physical universe, however, they are not always 
so reticent, but will cheerfully inform us that out of their 
" cosmic consciousness " they have evolved many truths of 
the utmost importance, such as that the earth is the centre 
of the physical universe, and that the sun revolves around 
it ; that there is to the north of us a great mountain behind 
which the sun, moon, and the other planets retire in their 
turn to rest ; that eclipses of the moon are caused by " dark 
planets " coming between the earth and the moon, 1 and 
many other such "truths," of which Western science has 
been for many years profoundly ignorant. 

But this is a digression. The phenomenon has often been 
reproduced even in the unilluminated Occident. It is often 
caused by nervous prostration, and it can be produced by 
hypnotism, or by hasheesh, or by any of the processes 
usually employed in the induction of the subjective condi- 
tion i and, as in all other psychic states, the visions beheld, 
or the impressions experienced, are in exact accordance 
with the suggestions which dominate the mind of the subject 
when he enters the state. If there is no specific suggestion 
made, the topic upon which the subject will be " illumi- 
nated " will be determined by the dominant characteristics 
of his mind. Thus, an inventor will feel that he has attained 
the power of perception of all mechanical laws and forces, 
and that all problems of invention are as a b c to him ; 
the mathematician will feel that he is in possession of all 
the laws of numbers, and that any and all problems are 
easy of solution by his " illuminated " intelligence ; the 
musician will experience the feeling that he is in an atmos- 
phere of musical sounds, and that the most delightful har- 
monies await his volition ; and so on through the whole 
repertoire of human accomplishments and objects of earthly 
ambition. Again, if the suggestion is made that the ecstatic 

1 See Carpenter's " From Adam's Peak to Elephanta," p. 186. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. l8l 

shall visit the spirit land, — the abode of the blest or the 
dungeon of the damned, — he will, with equal facility, visit 
either place, and his account of his visions will be the exact 
reproduction of his preconceived opinions (auto-sugges- 
tions) on those subjects. 

But here is the peculiarity which attends the visions and 
impressions of a certain class of ecstatics the world over. 
When they enter that state with the dominant idea that 
they are going to come into contact with Omniscience and 
merge their intelligence, as it were, with that of the Deity, 
they have no specific idea of what they are about to see, to 
experience, or to learn. Their only suggestion is a general 
one to the effect that they are about to come into intimate and 
loving contact with the All- Knowing One ; and that, guided 
by the very Spirit of Truth, they will be able to obtain in- 
stant possession of all knowledge. The result is always the 
same, from the Oriental ecstatic down to the humblest 
hypnotic subject. They experience a sensation which is 
described to be to the last degree pleasurable and exhilarat- 
ing, — a feeling that they have been suddenly released from 
the trammels of the flesh, that they are " emancipated " 
and " illuminated," and that they are in possession of all 
truth and all power and dominion. But that is the sum 
total of their revelations. No one has ever been able to 
wring from them the smallest modicum of that vast store of 
cosmic intelligence of which they have so suddenly become 
the custodians. One amiable old gentleman, known to the 
writer, has become so full of enthusiasm over his own ex- 
perience in the ecstatic condition that, realizing the hope- 
lessness of any attempt to convey by words the remotest 
idea of the "great truths " of which he has become the 
depositary, he has started in to reform the world by induc- 
ing others to enter the ecstatic condition, so that each for 
himself may acquire possession of that vast fund of unspeak- 
able information which belongs alone to the " illuminated. ,, 



1 82 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

" It cannot be conveyed in words," is the reply of the 
average Occidental ecstatic when pressed for an account of 
his experience. The Oriental wraps himself in his mantle 
of mysticism, and refuses to reveal the awful mysteries which 
have been confided to his care ; but boasts of his vast store- 
house of " scientific " knowledge, and looks with contempt 
upon the frivolities of material science in the Occident. 
Saint Paul's ecstatic evidently had the experience and was 
hedged about by the same limitations. During his visit to 
paradise he " heard unspeakable words which it is not law- 
ful for a man to utter," says Paul; and it must be admitted 
by the most sceptical that this was a double restriction not 
easy to evade or overcome. 

Well may Paul have been in doubt as to whether the man 
" was in the body or out of the body " when he was in that 
profound trance condition which often simulates death, and 
which is the condition necessary for the production of the 
phenomena of ecstasis. His doubt must have referred to 
the man's physical condition, and not to any question of the 
corporeal existence of the man himself; for Paul explicitly 
states that he knew the man. 

I have discussed this matter at greater length, perhaps, 
than was necessary; but this passage has been so often 
tortured into the service of spiritism that I have deemed it 
expedient to classify the fact in accordance with the views 
of modern experimental psychology, and at the same time 
to relieve Paul from the charge of inconsistency, in view of 
his explicit declaration that the alleged spiritistic phe- 
nomena than prevalent in the Church were neither more 
nor less then manifestations of one and the same Spirit ; 
namely, the spirit of God. 

Besides, I deemed it important to show that Paul, the 
most learned and philosophic of the Apostles, was not 
tinctured with the then prevalent beliefs ; and that John, 
the most intimate personal friend and companion of Jesus, 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 83 

was also free from the prevailing delusion. The importance 
of these facts is seen from the inference, which is irresisti- 
ble, that, if Jesus had deemed it possible for disembodied 
spirits to communicate with the living, his views would 
have been reflected in the teachings of those Apostles. 
The fact that neither Jesus himself nor John, his friend, nor 
Paul, the most learned exponent of his philosophy, nor 
indeed any of his Apostles, ever intimated a belief in spirit- 
ism, is conclusive against the hypothesis that the Founder 
of Christianity regarded spirit intercourse with the living as 
a possible factor in the science of the soul. 

Nevertheless the fact remains that the phenomena of so- 
called spiritism constituted one of the salient features of 
primitive Christianity. And it is no discredit to the Chris- 
tian religion to say that these phenomena constituted one 
of the most potent agencies employed for its promulgation. 
Indeed, it may be doubted whether the Christian Church 
could have long survived as an organic institution in that 
day and age of the world, had it not been for the signs and 
wonders which were afforded by the various forms of 
psychic phenomena which were then prevalent. Jesus him- 
self recognized the necessity for thus satisfying the popular 
demand for evidences of his authority and his divine mis- 
sion. It is true that he produced none outside of a clearly 
defined limit ; and that limit was defined by the spirit of 
altruism regnant in his soul. His miracles were all wrought 
for the benefit of humanity, — for human enlightenment or 
for the relief of human suffering. Their effect as evidences 
of his divine mission was of secondary importance to him. 
He did nothing for display, nothing for glory, nothing for 
emolument, nothing even to convince the sceptical of the 
truth of his doctrine, unless he could at the same time con- 
fer a benefit upon suffering humanity. He enjoined upon 
his followers the duty to heal the sick, and left his example 
as a sacred heritage to all who should come after him. 



1 84 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

During the first few hundred years of the Christian dispen- 
sation his injunctions were faithfully observed. But the 
power to heal the sick implied the power to produce other 
phenomena ; that is to say, the psychical condition neces- 
sary for the production of other phenomena were necessarily 
induced by the training required for the acquisition of the 
power to heal the sick. The result was that other phe- 
nomena were produced. It is superfluous to say that the 
same laws that prevail to-day governed the production of 
psychic phenomena in that day. The law of suggestion 
exerted its subtle influence then as now. Consequently the 
same facilities for self-deception on the part of the psychic 
existed in the Church of that day as exist in the spiritistic 
circles of the nineteenth century. The conditions were the 
same. The phenomena were identical. The same tests 
were applied with the same wonderful results. The phe- 
nomena, under the subtle influence of the law of suggestion, 
lent itself to the confirmation of every belief, just as it does 
in the spiritistic seances to-day. The necessary result was 
that the psychics of the Church, being dominated by the 
suggestions embraced in the Christian faith, confirmed the 
beliefs of the Church. 

It is easy to see what a powerful proselyting engine was 
at the command of the primitive Church, and to account 
for the zeal and success of that simple-minded people. Says 
Mosheim, — 

" It is easier to conceive than to express how much the 
miraculous powers and the extraordinary divine gifts which 
the early Christians exercised on various occasions, contributed 
to extend the limits of the Church." 

Possessed of such " divine gifts " emanating from a source 
which they could but regard as supernatural, in constant 
communication with beings whom they could but regard as 
disembodied spirits, frequently beholding visions of a sub- 
lime figure which they could but believe to be that of the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 85 

Divine Master himself, every phenomenon confirming and 
emphasizing the central idea of their faith, it would have 
been a miracle indeed if the Church had not flourished and 
become a moral force in the world, potent, aggressive, irre- 
sistible. And such we find it to have been ; for their mis- 
sionaries, in spite of pagan persecution, were soon thunder- 
ing at the gates of Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. 
The result was that in the short space of three hundred 
years they had become so powerful and influential that 
Constantine thought it worth while to become converted to 
Christianity, to the end that he might establish himself 
as Emperor and convert Christianity into a state religion. 

With that event ended the golden days of primitive Chris- 
tianity. Evolution had turned her face to the rear. The 
pure and simple doctrines of Jesus were forgotten. His 
text of discipleship — " that ye love one another" — was 
discarded. Thenceforth Christianity was largely a thing of 
creed and dogma. The Church was given over to the con- 
trol of an organized priesthood who acknowledged alle- 
giance only to the State. Private opinion became a public 
crime. The reign of love which Jesus inaugurated was 
transformed into a reign of terror; and for more than a 
thousand years the pathway of the Church was illuminated 
by the fagot and defined by human blood. 

Obviously it would be difficult, if not impossible, to trace 
the true history of psychic phenomena through that period. 
The heritage which Jesus had bequeathed to all his disci- 
ples had been seized by the priesthood and made to sub- 
serve its interests and to promote its power. That history, 
therefore, was in the keeping of those whose interest it was 
to deepen its mysteries, to the end that the people might 
be kept in ignorance of its source. That the priesthood 
have been, from time immemorial, in possession of the 
power to produce most wonderful psychic phenomena, is 
well known in the inner circles of the Church. That they 



1 86 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

are not entirely ignorant of its true source, is apparent. It 
is a part of esoteric Romanism. 

These remarks are not made in any spirit of censure ; 
for if the Church has ever done one thing more praise- 
worthy than another, it was when it inhibited the produc- 
tion of spiritistic phenomena by the common people. No 
matter what secret motives may have actuated the priest- 
hood in confining the production of psychic phenomena to 
that order, the fact remains that if the common people had 
not been prohibited from the indiscriminate production of 
psychic phenomena, it would have utterly demoralized the 
Christian Church, and rendered it a very cesspool of vice 
and immorality. No one who has investigated the subject 
needs to be told how demoralizing to soul and body is the 
production of spiritistic phenomena, even in this enlight- 
ened age, especially where the medium is ignorant of its 
true source, and ascribes it to supermundane agency. How 
much more terrible would have been the results in an 
age of universal ignorance and superstition, can only be 
conjectured. In the early days of the Christian Church 
learning was confined largely to the priesthood ; and it 
is doubtless true that they early discovered the vicious 
tendency of such practices, and felt compelled to interfere, 
in the interest of morality, and to prohibit the indiscriminate 
production of psychic phenomena by the ignorant laity. 
It is also doubtless true, as before remarked, that the 
priesthood understood something of the true nature of 
psychic phenomena ; and that they should employ it occa- 
sionally for the promotion of the interests of their order, 
was inevitable. The people of their day were seeking for 
u signs and wonders " as they were in the days of Jesus, 
and the priesthood had before them the example of the 
Master in withholding from the laity the esoteric knowl- 
edge which they were prepared neither to receive nor to 
appreciate. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 



l8 7 



Thus it appears manifest, not only that it was through 
psychic phenomena that the Christian religion was evolved, 
but that it was largely through psychic phenomena that 
the Christian Church was enabled to establish itself on a 
firm basis within the three hundred years succeeding the 
crucifixion of its founder. It matters not that these psychic 
phenomena were misunderstood ; nor is it any discredit to 
Christianity that in an age of intellectual darkness, before 
science threw its first glimmering rays of light upon the 
intellectual horizon, the Christian religion was thus pro- 
moted. Jesus did not misunderstand the phenomena of 
the soul, nor is he to blame because his followers mistook 
the import of phenomena which he did not produce and 
to which he did not give his sanction. As well might we 
discredit astronomy because it had its origin in astrology, 
or chemistry because it was preceded by alchemy, or im- 
pugn the wisdom of the Almighty because the Psalmist was 
ignorant of the Copernican system when he exclaimed, 
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firma- 
ment showeth his handiwork." The grand procession of 
the planets around the sun constitutes the phenomena of 
the solar system. These phenomena are the facts of astron- 
omy ; and they are none the less so because they have been 
misunderstood. They were observed and studied alike by 
the ignorant and the wise until the truth was evolved. 
The Psalmist doubtless regarded the earth as the centre 
of the universe ; but the discoveries of Kepler and of 
Newton have neither diminished the force nor discredited 
the truth of the sublime words of the sweet singer of 
Israel. 

In like manner psychic phenomena — the facts of the 
science of the soul — have been observed from time im- 
memorial, and must still continue to be observed and 
studied until the true science of the soul is evolved. When 
this is accomplished, it will be found that the truths of 



1 88 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

Christianity will be none the less clearly recognizable 
because psychic phenomena have been, in times past, 
most grossly misinterpreted. On the contrary, as every 
truth illuminates every other truth to which it is related, 
the truths which Jesus taught must find a new illustration 
in every fresh discovery in the science of the soul. 



CHAPTER XL 

MODERN PSYCHIC PHENOMENA. 

Mesmerism. — Telepathy demonstrated by the Followers of Mesmer. 
— Braid's Discovery. — Hypnotism. — Discovery of the Law of 
Suggestion. — Clairvoyance. — The Rochester Knockings. — Mes- 
meric Subjects and Mediums. — Spiritism as a Step in the Process 
of Evolution. — Its Effect. 

\A/E now approach an epoch in the history of psychic 
phenomena of the most transcendent interest and 
imminent importance. Hitherto we have dealt with phe- 
nomena so obscured by the twilight of tradition and imperfect 
history that only the faint outlines or the most salient 
features have been discernible. We shall, however, be 
compensated for this lack of clearness in the ancient 
phenomena by turning upon it the calcium light of modern 
experience ; for we now enter the domain of demonstrable 
facts which have been incorporated into the great body of 
modern science ; namely, the scientifically verified facts of 
experimental psychology. 

When Anton Mesmer first demonstrated to the world that 
by certain mysterious manipulations persons can be thrown 
into a condition of trance, during which the objective senses 
are held in more or less complete abeyance, and that at 
the same time the functions of the body can be modified, 
pain suppressed, fever calmed, and disease removed, he 
laid the foundation of the true science of the human soul. 
Not that he obtained more than a glimpse into the promised 
land, or that he had the remotest idea of the grand results 



190 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

which were to follow ; but he was the first, in modern times, 
to point out one mean through which the soul can be 
experimentally studied. For him the only field of useful- 
ness for the newly discovered power was that of therapeutics ; 
and it was not till he had been driven by professional 
jealousy into dishonored exile that his followers so far 
extended his discoveries as to open the way for the study of 
the whole field of experimental psychology. The Marquis 
de Puys£gur, a philanthropist, a scientist, and a man of 
fearless integrity, in utter disregard of the sentence of pro- 
fessional and social ostracism pronounced by the medical 
profession of his day upon all who presumed to investigate 
the subject of mesmerism, extended the experiments of 
Mesmer, and was the first to develop experimentally the 
phenomenon of telepathy. He was followed by many 
others, of more or less scientific prominence, who confirmed 
his experiments, among whom were Esdaile, Elliotson, 
Deleuze, Baron Dupotet, and many others of lesser note. 
The result was that a series of most wonderful psychic 
phenomena were produced and verified with scientific 
exactitude. The ultra-scientists, however, continued to 
cast ridicule upon the phenomena, and to persecute and to 
drive to ruin every scientist who dared to make an honest 
experiment. This continued until 1840, when Dr. Braid, a 
Manchester physician, announced that he had discovered 
that a condition cognate to that produced by Mesmer could 
be induced by causing the subject to gaze steadily upon a 
bright object held in front of and slightly above the eyes. 
This he denominated " hypnotism ; " and the name has since 
been retained and applied to all the varied phases of 
induced subjective phenomena, although it strictly applies 
to but a very small proportion of them. His work, however, 
attracted very little immediate attention in his own country, 
and it was not until Liebault confirmed and extended the 
experiments of Braid that hypnotism was admitted within 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 191 

the domain of the exact sciences. Liebault was followed 
by a host of others, so that within the last twenty years, or 
less, hypnotism has come to be acknowledged as a science 
of the most transcend ant interest and importance, not alone 
in its aspects as a therapeutic agent, but as the handmaiden, 
par excellence, of experimental psychology. 

It is to Liebault, however, that the world is indebted for 
the greatest discovery ever made in the science of hypnotism ; 
namely, the law of " suggestion." This law, reduced to 
its simplest terms, is that " persons in an hypnotic condition 
are constantly amenable to control by suggestion." I am 
aware that the credit of this discovery has been claimed for 
Braid ; but, nevertheless, Liebault first formulated the law, 
and it is to the one who has the capacity to grasp the 
universality of a law, and definitely to formulate it, that 
credit is due for the discovery. Many others had noted the 
effect of suggestion in particular cases, and had thus counted 
it as a possible factor in hypnotism. Paracelsus, in the six- 
teenth century, noted it as an important factor in psycho- 
therapeutics ; but he was no more entitled to the credit of its 
discovery than were the predecessors of Newton, who talked 
learnedly of gravitation but died before its fundamental law 
was formulated, entitled to the credit due to the author of 
the " Principia." It is true that Liebault confined his formula 
to the phenomena of experimental hypnotism, and it was 
left for later investigators to discover that the law was the 
universal and dominating factor in all the multiform phases 
of psychic phenomena. But until Liebault's discovery 
was definitely formulated, hypnotism was not, nor could 
it be, entitled to admission into the circle of the exact 
sciences. That discovery, therefore, constituted the first 
great step in the evolution of the science of the soul; 
for it is by hypnotism and cognate phenomena alone 
that the fact that man has a soul can be scientifically 
demonstrated. 



192 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

In the mean time, before the discoveries of Braid and of 
Liebault, mesmerism had fallen largely into the hands of 
ignorant charlatans, who travelled throughout every civilized 
country, lecturing and giving exhibitions of the phenomena to 
gaping crowds, who w T ere neither more nor less capable than 
were the exhibitors themselves of appreciating the real signifi- 
cance of the exhibitions. By this means mesmeric subjects 
were indefinitely multiplied until every little hamlet in 
Christendom could boast of its " seers " and its " prophets." 
" Clairvoyance " became a word of portentous import, and 
was soon employed as a generic term for every manifestation 
of perception not directly traceable to sensorial experience. 
Many notable phenomena were produced, and books de- 
scribing them multiplied. All were, of course, derided by 
the " scientists ; " the lecturers themselves were branded as 
"mountebanks," and the " subjects," who were taken largely 
from the ranks of the school children, were denounced as 
" frauds," " humbugs," and " swindlers." Among the books 
which appeared, many were written in a purely scientific 
tone and spirit, and described the experiments with great 
minuteness and exactness, and detailed the tests applied 
and the safeguards employed with true scientific caution 
and transparent honesty of purpose. It is a curious and an 
intensely interesting study to go over those old "volumes of 
forgotten lore," rescued from the top shelves of second- 
hand bookstores, and to compare the experiments therein 
detailed with those of the scientists of to-day. Such a 
study reveals many thoroughly authenticated facts of great 
scientific value in the study of experimental psychology, the 
only defect being that the law of suggestion had not yet 
been formulated. Nevertheless, in very many cases, that 
factor was as intelligently eliminated as it has ever been by 
later scientists who are in full possession of a thorough 
knowledge of its potency and universality. In point of fact, 
there are few phenomena of importance produced by the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 



193 



later scientists which have not their counterpart in the old 
records of pre-spiritistic mesmerism. 

In this connection it may be well to pause for the pur- 
pose of remarking that up to a certain date no one ever 
dreamed of ascribing to supermundane agency any of the 
phenomena of mesmerism. Many phenomena were pro- 
duced which have since found a ready solution in the 
hypothesis of spirit intercourse ; but at the time of their 
production it was not found necessary to presuppose any 
other agency than that of some inherent, though newly 
discovered, power of the living subject. In other words, 
it was not regarded as necessary for a man to be dead 
before he could develop the powers evoked by mesmer- 
ism. Such an hypothesis had not yet been " suggested." 

This state of affairs, however, was destined to a somewhat 
sudden termination. The Rochester knockings had com- 
menced. At first ascribed to trickery, investigation proved 
that they. could not be traced to any known physical agency. 
The sounds were startling, mysterious, uncanny, and to none 
more so than to those to whose unconscious agency they 
were afterwards traced. To the minds of the local savants 
the most obvious solution was the supernatural. This idea 
once suggested, a test was easy. A code of signals was 
improvised, and the raps were questioned. An intelligence 
was found to be behind the mysterious sounds. On cross- 
examination, that intelligence freely admitted itself to be 
none other than that of a disembodied spirit ; and the raps 
first made upon the walls of the humble residence of the 
Fox sisters were heard around the world. 

A new era in psychic phenomena had been inaugurated. 
In an incredibly short space of time " mediums " of com- 
munication with the inhabitants of another sphere were 
found all over the civilized world. Mesmerism was for- 
gotten. But it is a significant fact that it had unwittingly 
provided an abundant supply of the raw material for 

13 



194 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

"mediums;" for every successful mesmeric subject was 
found to be already developed for successful mediumship. 
The phenomena of "clairvoyance" no longer possessed 
their former significance. What was, under mesmerism, 
the development of an inherent power of the mind of the 
subject, under spiritism was a message from some denizen 
of another world. If any doubt existed upon that point, 
it was speedily set at rest by the simple process of question- 
ing the intelligence itself. When asked if it was a spirit, the 
answer was, " Yes." When asked if it was the spirit of John 
Smith, the answer was "Yes; " and the same answer would 
be returned if the identity of the spirit of Socrates was 
sought. In other words, it was just as easy successfully to 
invoke the shade of Socrates as it was to call up John 
Smith, notwithstanding the disparity in numbers. 

The law of suggestion had not been discovered ; and the 
fact of duality of consciousness existed in the popular mind 
only as a Platonic reminiscence. 

But this is not the proper place to discuss the errors of 
spiritism. It is sufficient for present purposes to note that 
the appearance of spiritism, coming as it did upon the world 
of human thought and experience simultaneously with mes- 
merism, seems not only opportune, but almost providential. 
Together they constitute the great body of the psychic phe- 
nomena of the nineteenth century, and neither would have 
been complete without the other. In spiritism we have a 
vast series of phenomena, and in mesmerism and hypnotism 
we have a means of scientifically studying it and thus profit- 
ing by the lessons which it teaches. If this is done in a 
calm and dispassionate spirit, we may rest assured that 
what we shall learn will be for the highest good of the 
human race. We shall at least find that when we look 
upon it as a necessary part of the grand system of evolu- 
tion of the human mind, it is a factor of inestimable value 
and significance. Viewed as a factor in the evolution of the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 95 

spiritual man, it has been of transcendent value to mankind. 
It matters not that its phenomena have been grossly misin- 
terpreted. It was impossible to avoid a misunderstanding 
of it in the absence of the knowledge which modern scien- 
tific investigation has revealed within the last decade. It 
would have been a miracle if it had not been accepted for 
all that it purported to be, in the absence of any other 
rational explanation than that afforded by a wholesale 
denial of its phenomena. Its adherents had daily ocular 
demonstration of the genuineness of its phenomena, which 
could not be offset by a priori denials from those who 
refused to investigate. Moreover, the intelligence behind 
the manifestations claimed to be that of loved ones who had 
gone before ; and in the then state of human knowledge 
there was no means of successfully disproving the statement. 
Besides, it was a statement that millions of stricken hearts 
dreaded to have disproved. To many it constituted the 
last ray of hope of a life beyond the grave, and of a 
reunion with the loved and lost. 

It does not always follow that the mistakes of humanity 
are productive of unmitigated evil. We have already seen 
how, in times past, the most grossly misinterpreted psychic 
phenomena led, by the slow but sure steps of evolution, to a 
knowledge of the true God ; and how the propagation of 
the true religion was promoted by the same means. Spirit- 
ism has also served a noble purpose in that it has stayed 
the wave of materialism which swept like a cyclone over 
the civilized world upon the announcement of the doctrine 
of organic evolution. Millions of the human family who 
could not appreciate the fact that the doctrine of evolution 
does not touch the question of true religion and leaves the 
problem of immortality just where it found it, have derived 
consolation from what they regard as demonstrative evidence 
of a life beyond the grave. 

In making the foregoing remarks, I have not taken into 



I96 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

account any of the vagaries of spiritism. I have not con- 
sidered the evils to which it has given rise, the gross immo- 
ralities which some of its votaries teach both by precept 
and example, nor the absurdities into which many of its 
followers have been led. When a law of Nature is mis- 
understood, there is inevitable danger to those who rashly 
place themselves within its reach. This is just as true 
of the laws of mind as it is of the laws of matter. The law 
which, rightly understood, is the most beneficent, may 
become an engine of destruction to those who ignorantly 
place themselves in wrong relations to it. 

What I have here said of spiritism, therefore, must be 
considered as having reference to its aggregate effect upon 
the human family. In this respect I have no hesitation in 
saying that, as a whole, it has been beneficent. But, tak- 
ing a still broader view of the subject, it must be said that 
its manifestations are a necessary and an indispensable part 
of the grand aggregate of psychic phenomena, through 
which alone man is at last enabled to study the science of 
the soul. Not that it teaches us just what is in store for 
man in a future state of existence, for, in the language of 
the Beloved Disciple, " it doth not yet appear what we 
shall be ; " but it teaches us what man is. Not that we 
shall ever be able to enter into communication with the 
inhabitants of the spirit world, and thus learn more than 
Jesus revealed to us ; but we may learn by induction some- 
thing of what he knew by intuition; and we may, per- 
chance, learn enough of the laws of the soul to be able to 
postulate immortality with some degree of scientific cer- 
tainty. If this should prove to be the outcome of spiritistic 
phenomena, all will agree that it has not been produced in 
vain; even though, by the same process of reasoning, it 
should be demonstrated that spirits of the dead do not 
communicate with the living, and although the whole super- 
structure of spiritistic philosophy, based upon the assump- 
tion of spirit communion, should be demolished. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 97 

It seems to me that I am warranted in saying that 
enough of thoroughly verified facts have already accumu- 
lated to enable us to successfully apply the processes of 
induction to the solution of the problem of a future life. 
The facts of mesmerism ; the facts of hypnotism, as devel- 
oped by the scientific investigators of Europe and America ; 
the vast array of scientifically verified facts presented in 
the reports of the London Society for Psychical Research, 
together with the rich store of facts presented in the phe- 
nomena of spiritism, — constitute the material from which it 
is hoped to learn something, not only of what man is, but 
of the fate to which he is destined. 



CHAPTER XII 



HAS MAN A SOUL? 



Intuitive Perceptions of the Existence of a Soul in Man. — Plato's 
Philosophy. — The Doctrine of Body, Soul, and Spirit. — The 
Doctrine of Jesus. — Modern Scientific Scepticism. — Require- 
ments of Modern Science. — The Dual Hypothesis. — The Phe- 
nomena of Dreams. — The Objective and Subjective Mental States 
differentiated. — Limitations of Powers of Reasoning in the Sub- 
jective Mind. — Its Perfect Power of Deduction. — Telepathy and 
Prevision. 



TT has thus far been provisionally assumed that man has 
* a soul. But, before proceeding to formulate a scien- 
tific argument demonstrative of the soul's immortality, it is 
logically necessary to demonstrate the verity of the pro- 
visional assumption. Materialistic science will certainly be 
satisfied with nothing less ; for it is at this point that it 
invariably calls a halt, and reminds us that the primary rule 
of logic demands that our premises be not assumed. 

In discussing this branch of the subject in a work like 
this, the reader must be presumed to be somewhat familiar 
with the current literature relating to the psychic phenom- 
ena of the nineteenth century, especially with that which 
deals with the scientific aspects of the various questions 
involved. It is obviously impossible, within the limits of a 
single volume, to present documentary evidence of the 
verity of every statement that must be made. Therefore 
results only can be stated : but the reader may rest 
assured that I shall not attempt to lead him outside the 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 199 

realm of scientifically verified facts, which can be experi- 
mentally reproduced. Should I attempt to do so, the 
fraud would be easily detected, for the facts are public 
property, and are known to him who reads. My conclu- 
sions from those facts, however, rest upon a different foot- 
ing. They are necessarily my own, and it is the province 
of the reader to test their soundness in the crucible of his 
own logic, if mine is found to be unsound or unsatis- 
factory. 

That man has a soul, is and has been, since the dawn of 
civilization, a matter of intuitive perception ; that is to 
say, all civilized people have felt that they realized, in a 
more or less definite way, that there is in man what appears 
to be a distinct entity which is apparently capable of sus- 
taining an existence independently of the body. This fact 
of universality of perception constitutes a strong argument, 
though not a conclusive one, in support of that doctrine, 
and its corollary, — a future life. It is noteworthy that in 
the early history of the world, the higher the state of civili- 
zation the more pronounced and definite were the current 
notions regarding the soul's existence ; although they 
lacked that clearness and simplicity which characterized 
the purely intuitional perceptions of those who were less 
skilled in philosophical ratiocination. Thus, in Greece, 
the doctrine was formulated in clear and definite terms by 
Plato who held that man is composed of " body, soul, and 
spirit." His doctrine, however, was the result of something 
more than intuition. He does not tell us the distinction 
between soul and spirit, and leaves us entirely in the dark 
as to whether his conclusions were arrived at from the 
observation of phenomena, or from purely speculative 
philosophy, without facts to sustain it. But it must be 
remembered that Plato, in common with the other philoso- 
phers of his day, regarded the conclusions derived from 
purely speculative philosophy as good as so many facts for 



200 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

the purpose of constructing the major premise of a syllo- 
gism. Not that they disdained facts, or failed to employ 
them when they were easily obtainable, but that they failed 
to estimate the relative value of a demonstrated fact and 
the conclusions resulting from their own speculations. 
Again, Plato may have been influenced by the Hindu phi- 
losophy, which constructs man in sections, puts him 
together like a telescope, and assigns him the task of shed- 
ding one section at a time until there is nothing left but 
"pure spirit." It seems probable, however, that Plato's 
idea of man may have arisen from a mal-observation of 
psychic phenomena. Thus, his idea of the spirit may have 
been derived from his observation of the operation of the 
subjective faculties ; and his idea of the soul, from his 
observation of the objective mental activity, or vice versa. 
In other words, he failed to observe that the objective 
mind, instead of being an entity, is merely the function of 
the human brain, and necessarily ceases with the death of 
the body; whereas the subjective mind belongs to a dis- 
tinct entity, which is apparently capable of sustaining an 
existence independently of the body. It is this entity 
which modern philosophers denominate the " soul " or the 
"spirit," — the two terms, in the vocabulary of modern 
spiritual philosophy, being generally synonymous. It is true 
that there are still to be found occasional representatives of 
the " telescopic " school of spiritual philosophy, who hold to 
the old doctrine of three entities, — body, soul, and spirit ; 
but no one of them has ever been able to point to a single 
facts which discloses the existence of more than two. There 
are others who cling to the old vocabulary, but admit that 
there are but two entities, namely, the body and the soul • 
the spirit, in their philosophy, being the life principle which 
animates both body and soul, as well as all organic Nature. 
In this sense there is no objection to the phrase, save that 
it has a tendency to confuse the unscientific mind and to 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 201 

lead it into a maze of speculation which is as unprofitable 
as it is unscientific. 

This apparent digression is made for the purpose of pla- 
cing the conclusions derived from the speculative philosophy 
of the ancients in sharp contrast with the intuitional per- 
ceptions of the unperverted human soul, especially that of 
Jesus of Nazareth. I shall now follow it up by showing 
that the facts developed by modern scientific investigation 
confirm and emphasize the philosophy of Jesus in all its 
purity and simplicity. For it is a fact of most profound 
significance that Jesus, although he must be presumed to 
have been acquainted with all the philosophy of his day, 
never gave utterance to a word which indicated his belief 
in that complicated spiritual structure of man which has 
been so industriously proclaimed by both ancient and 
modern philosophers. He taught the simple truth that 
man has a soul ; he demonstrated that truth by the pro- 
duction of phenomena of the soul ; he promulgated the 
doctrine that the soul is capable of sustaining an existence 
independently of the body, and he taught mankind how to 
deserve and how to attain immortal life. This comprises 
all that man needs to know of spiritual philosophy, and it 
will not be denied that in its simplicity of statement it bears 
the impress of scientific truth. It is the province of science 
to ascertain whether observable facts confirm his doctrines. 

Should a scientist who is unfamiliar with the recent 
developments of psychic science, be asked what would 
constitute conclusive evidence to his mind of the existence 
of a soul in man, he would doubtless reply that he must 
first be convinced that the mind does not follow the condi- 
tions of the body and brain. Then he would launch out 
into a more or less learned dissertation, reminding us that 
all human experience goes to show that as the body grows 
weaker the mind grows weaker ; that a disease of the brain 
produces insanity or imbecility ; that certain organs of the 



202 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

mind can be modified, inhibited, or totally destroyed by a 
surgical operation; that mechanical pressure upon the brain 
produces total unconsciousness and insensibility ; that when 
the body dies, all manifestations of mind cease at once and 
forever, etc. In short, he would lead us through all the 
stock arguments of materialistic science which go to prove 
that the mind is not an entity, but a function of the physi- 
cal v brain, and that it necessarily ceases to manifest itself 
when the brain loses its vitality. All this we have heard 
before, ad nauseam, and all this we admit to be true, so 
far as the objective mind is concerned; but we hasten to 
remind him that the researches of modern science have 
developed the fact that man has a dual mind, — two planes 
of consciousness, — a normal and a super-normal plane, 
and that the latter manifests itself when the former is in- 
hibited. In other words, when the brain is asleep and all 
the objective senses or faculties are in complete abeyance, 
the super-normal or subjective faculties are capable of in- 
tense activity. If he has heard of hypnotism as developed 
by orthodox scientists, he is ready to admit that man has a 
dual mind in the sense that it acts in one way under certain 
conditions of the body, and in another way under certain 
other conditions of the body. " It is the same mind," he 
adds, "its powers and functions being susceptible to modi- 
fication either by peripheral stimuli or by the inhibition of 
activity in certain nerve centres and the stimulation of 
others to abnormal activity." All this has a very learned 
sound, in that it is characterized by the oracular indefinite- 
ness of true materialistic science when dealing with prob- 
lems beyond its legitimate domain. Should we then remind 
him that the facts of experimental psychology show that 
duality of mind means vastly more than is implied in his 
definition, — that, in fact, it is demonstrable that man pos- 
sesses a dual mind, — he would doubtless inform us at once 
that such a thing is " impossible," that it is "contrary to 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 203 

the nature of things/' that it is " subversive of all psycho- 
logical science " with which he is acquainted, and, worst of 
all, " it would destroy the value and significance of all the 
learning that has been bestowed in times past upon the 
science of psychology; " in short, " that all. the vast bibli- 
ography of the old psychology would have to be revised 
and rewritten" 1 if the dual- mind theory is demonstrable. 
Of course, all this is very shocking and subversive and revo- 
lutionary, and all that ; but we will suppose our scientist to 
be a fair-minded man, and we will venture one more ques- 
tion, namely, what demonstration, short of pulling the two 
minds out of a man with a pair of forceps, weighing them 
in a balance, and carving them with a scalpel, would be con- 
sidered adequate proof of the actual existence of two minds 
in man? I submit that the conditions to be prescribed 
by the most exacting scientist could be no more severe 
than the following : — 

1. It must be shown that man possesses attributes and 
powers independent of each other and irreconcilable with 
each other except by the hypothesis that he is endowed 
with two minds. 

2. That each is capable of independent action while the 
other is in complete abeyance. 

3. That each must possess powers and limitations not 
possessed by the other. 

4. That each must, in the normal man, perform functions 
which the other is incapable of exercising. 

5. That one mind must normally be subordinate to the 
other. 

6. That there must be some evidence of the survival of 
one after the extinction of the other. 

7. That each of the foregoing propositions must be 

1 I am quoting from memory the words actually employed by 
an eminent scientist when confronted with the theory of duality 
of mind. 



204 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

demonstrated by an appeal to observable facts that are 
susceptible of no other rational interpretation. 

I think it will be conceded by the most sceptical that if 
the foregoing propositions can be fairly established, it will 
constitute at least prima facie evidence of the existence of 
a soul in mankind. When this is done, it will be followed 
by other considerations which will be demonstrative of that 
proposition. In the mean time, as the above propositions 
are nearly related, they will be considered together. 

The broad line of distinction and demarcation between 
the two classes of attributes consists in the fact, which is of 
every-day observation and universal experience, that nor- 
mally each class of attributes manifests itself while the 
other is quiescent. This fact is brought to universal con- 
sciousness in the phenomena of dreams. If dreams had 
but recently been brought to the attention of the civilized 
world, they would now be considered the most wonderful 
phenomena of the human mind. Being the common 
experience of all mankind, their real significance has been 
to a great extent overlooked. The reason for this is found 
in the fact that their most common form of manifestation 
can be traced either to peripheral stimuli, or to the upper- 
most waking thoughts of the sleeper. But it occasionally 
happens, and has happened throughout all the ages of which 
history or tradition gives us any account, that men have 
dreamed dreams which cannot be traced to anything within 
the known physical or mental environment of the dreamer. 
Dreams which give warning of impending danger ; dreams 
which demonstrate the fact of communion with friends at a 
distance ; dreams which solve problems far beyond the objec- 
tive or normal capacity of the dreamer, — are among the 
phenomena which point clearly to a consciousness distinct 
from and independent of his normal consciousness, and 
possessing a power of perception of truth which reaches 
out far beyond the range of the objective senses. These 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 205 

are phenomena which have been observed in a haphazard, 
unintelligent way throughout all the ages, and would doubt- 
less have continued to be so observed had not the phenom- 
ena of mesmerism or hypnotism been brought to the 
attention of science. Hypnotism enables us to study the 
phenomena of dreams by experimental reproduction ; and 
in this sense it may be defined to be the power to repro- 
duce the phenomena of dreams. It is that, but it is more. 
It is the power, not only to reproduce, but to control the 
phenomena, and carry them to an intelligible conclusion. 
Hypnotic phenomena possess all the salient characteristics 
of dream phenomena, and are governed by the same laws, 
modified only by methods of induction. The total or 
partial abeyance of the objective senses (sleep) is the first 
requisite in each ease. In hypnotism the subject is en 
rapport with the hypnotist, and his dreams are controlled 
by the suggestions of the latter. In natural sleep the sub- 
ject is en rapport with himself, and his dreams are controlled 
sometimes by the suggestions conveyed in the current of 
his waking thoughts, and sometimes by those of peripheral 
stimuli. This is practically all that differentiates hypnotic 
sleep from natural sleep (Bernheim). When the sleep is 
induced by hypnotic processes, the subject may always be 
made to dream by making oral suggestions, and frequently 
by mere mental suggestion. He can also be made to 
dream by peripheral stimuli, such as applying heat or cold 
to his body, or by placing him in attitudes suggestive of 
certain mental emotions, or by causing music to be played 
in his presence. 1 There is another point where the phe- 
nomena of hypnotism and dreams exactly coincide which 
deserves particular attention. It is well known that, when 

1 See " Some Physiologic Effects of Music in Hypnotized Sub- 
jects," by Aldred S. Warthin, Ph.D., M.D., Demonstrator of Clinical 
Medicine in the Michigan University, Medical News, July 28, 1894 
(Philadelphia). 



206 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

sleep is profound, dreams are not remembered. Neverthe- 
less, it was demonstrated many years ago, by the earlier 
psychologists, that, no matter how profound the sleep, 
dreams do not cease. It is precisely so in hypnotism. If 
the hypnosis is profound, the subject does not remember 
the experiences through which he has passed. It is, how- 
ever, in that state of profound hypnosis that the most 
wonderful phenomena are produced. It is then that the 
evidences are most conclusive of a second intelligence 
existent in man ; for it is then that the distinctive attributes 
and powers of the subjective entity come to the surface. 

This, then, is the broad dividing line which separates the 
two hypothetical entities. It is so plain and palpable that 
it cannot fail to be observed by every one who has witnessed 
the phenomena of hypnotism ; and it consists, as before 
remarked, in the fact that the essential condition precedent 
to the successful exercise of the distinctive attributes and 
powers of each of the two minds is that the other must be 
in a state of quiescence. This fact alone constitutes 
prima facie evidence of duality, at least in the limited sense 
of the term. 

It will now be in order to ascertain the distinctive char- 
acteristics which differentiate the objective and subjective 
mental states, with the view of determining whether they 
point logically to the conclusion that the phenomena are 
the product of two distinct mental organizations. 

The first distinctive characteristic of the subjective mind, 
which differentiates it from the objective in a most marked 
and unmistakable manner, consists in the fact that it is 
constantly amenable to control by the power of suggestion. 
This fact has been noted in a previous chapter, and is 
restated here for the sake of a symmetrical grouping of the 
whole of the leading characteristics of the subjective entity. 
It need not be dwelt upon at this time further than to 
remark upon its universality. The scientists to whom the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 20y 

world is forever indebted for the discovery of the law of 
suggestion, did not realize that it applied to other than the 
phenomena evoked by experimental hypnotism. Indeed, 
Bernheim himself expressly founds his definition of hypno- 
tism upon the assumed fact that it only " increases the 
susceptibility to suggestion." In other words, he assumes 
that all men are more or less susceptible to suggestion " in 
their waking state." That this is true only in the limited 
sense that all men in their normal condition are more or 
less susceptible to persuasion or argument, is demonstrated 
by every experiment legitimately conducted. It is true that 
a very slight degree of hypnosis is required in very sensitive 
subjects, or in those who have often been hypnotized by the 
operator, as was the case in Bernheim' s experiments ; but 
that some degree of subjectivity or abeyance of the objec- 
tive faculties is required to render a person susceptible to 
the power of suggestion proper, is all but self-evident. Thus 
it is a fact of common experience that when one goes to a 
dentist's office to have an aching tooth extracted, he inva- 
riably finds upon his arrival that the tooth has ceased to 
ache. In other words, Nature has hypnotized him so far as 
to produce anaesthesia in the refractory nerve, although he 
appears to be in a perfectly nor.mal condition. 1 If, now, 
some one who understands the power of suggestion, and 
knows how to apply it, should make the suggestion to the 
patient that the anaesthesia would be continued until the 
tooth is extracted, no pain would be experienced from the 
operation. 

The points to be here observed are, first, that it requires 
but a slight degree of hypnosis to render one susceptible 
to the power of suggestion ; secondly, that some degree of 
abeyance of the objective faculties is necessary to render 
suggestion effective ; thirdly, that the law of suggestion is 

1 See " Hypnotism a Universal Anaesthetic in Surgery/' N. Y. Med. 
Jour., Dec. 22, 1894. 



208 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

universal, and applies to all degrees of subjectivity and to 
all psychic phenomena of whatever name or nature ; and 
fourthly, that the objective mind is controllable by sugges- 
tion against reason, experience, and the evidences of the 
senses. It is unnecessary to remark that the objective 
mind, in its normal state, is not susceptible to such control. 

It will not be denied that this difference between the two 
mental states of man possesses a veritable significance of some 
kind, nor can it be doubted that the solution of the problem 
will prove of the utmost importance to the human family. 

The second proposition bearing upon the subject is that 
the subjective mind is incapable of reasoning inductively. 
This will readily be seen to be a corollary of the law of sug- 
gestion ; that is to say, under the law of suggestion the 
subjective mind, when it reasons at all, necessarily takes its 
premises from the objective mind. In experimental hyp- 
notism its premises are the suggestions of the hypnotist. 
From those suggestions it will reason deductively with most 
marvellous acumen. Indeed, its power of correct deduction 
from any premises suggested seems to be practically perfect. 
And this is equally true whether the premises are true or 
false. Like the ancient Greek philosophers, it does not 
disdain facts when they will serve its purpose \ that is, 
when they serve to sustain the proposition embraced in the 
suggestion. Indeed, it will marshal all such facts that are 
within the storehouse of its perfect memory; but it will 
persistently ignore all facts which militate against the sug- 
gestion. It is impossible that it should do otherwise. The 
inexorable law of suggestion interposes an insuperable bar- 
rier against independent thought, which is the very essence 
of induction. The subjective mind cannot marshal facts 
except on one side of a question, and that side is in favor 
of the suggestion which happens for the time being to be 
uppermost. That is as true of the subjective mental oper- 
ations of every-day life as it is of experimental hypnotism. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 209 

The third proposition is that the power of the subjective 
mind to reason deductively from given premises is practi- 
cally perfect. This has been mentioned in the foregoing 
paragraphs, but it requires further elucidation. I do not 
set this down as a distinctive characteristic of the subjec- 
tive mind which is antithetical to the objective ; for it is 
obvious that the latter possesses that power. But it is 
worthy of note, for the reason that the difference in degree 
is so marked that it practically amounts to a distinctive 
attribute of the subjective mind. Nor do I assert that its 
power of correct deduction is perfect. It is manifestly 
impossible to know just when the conditions are perfect for 
the manifestation of the highest powers. But that under 
favorable conditions it is practically perfect, does not admit 
of doubt in the minds of those who have intelligently 
observed the phenomena of experimental hypnotism, or, 
indeed, any of the higher phases of psychic phenomena. 
When this prodigious power of correct deduction is prop- 
erly understood and appreciated, it will be found to furnish 
the key to many obscure problems in psychic science. As a 
single instance I will mention the fact that many of the 
phenomena of so-called prevision, or prophecy, may be 
traced directly to the power of correct deduction from prem- 
ises derived from any of the myriad sources from which a 
suggestion maybe imparted or knowledge obtained. Telep- 
athy, for instance, is one of the sources of information 
through which the subjective mind obtains knowledge of 
facts not consciously possessed by the objective intelligence 
of either of the parties concerned. It is safe to say that 
most if not all of the mysterious cases of prevision may be 
traced to this cause. I do not say that the subjective mind 
of man may not possess the inherent power of correct pre- 
vision independently of knowledge of the subject-matter or 
the processes of reasoning. I do not know. Many stories 
are current which would seem to indicate the existence of 

14 



210 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

that power. But such stories are usually ve r y far from 
being sufficiently well authenticated to warrant any scientist 
in giving them anything more than a provisional place in 
psychic science. Certain it is that all the scientifically 
verified accounts of correct prevision may be traced directly 
to the soul's wonderful power of correct deduction ; and 
all that is mysterious regarding its sources of information 
may be traced to telepathy and perfect memory. When 
these two powers are taken into consideration, it will readily 
be seen that the subjective mind is in possession of sources 
of data of which the objective intelligence of mankind has 
as yet but a faint conception ; and when to these sources 
of information is added the power of perfect deduction, it 
will be seen that much, if not all, of that which has seemed 
mysterious and inexplicable except by reference to super- 
mundane sources of information, is easily explained by 
reference to natural laws with which the world is fast be- 
coming acquainted. 

May not this be the fountain of " this pleasing hope, 
this fond desire, this longing after immortality "? May it 
not be the origin of that emotion of the human mind 
which has been designated as an " intuitive knowledge of a 
life to come"? May not the soul have experiences of 
spiritual life so far removed from the physical realm that 
no cognizance of them can be taken by the objective con- 
sciousness ? May not the soul be able to reach a state of 
consciousness so exalted as to enable it to come into con- 
tact and conscious communion with a deific intelligence, 
and to imbibe truth from its Eternal Source ? May not the 
soul reach such a state of illumination during the uncon- 
scious moments of the physical senses that all spiritual 
truth will be open to its intuitive perceptions? May not 
the soul, either in its state of induced exaltation or by the 
exercise of its normal powers, be able to take cognizance 
of spiritual facts from which it may, by the exercise of its 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 211 

marvellous powers of correct deduction, be able to demon- 
strate to its own consciousness the fact of immortality? 
All these questions, and more, will be asked by the earnest 
seeker after tangible evidences of a future life. They are 
interesting, if not pertinent, questions ; and were we indul- 
ging in the pleasing phantasies of speculative philosophy, and 
could thus afford to dispense with facts, we might construct 
an argument for immortality that to many would seem im- 
pregnable. But there is one insuperable obstacle in the 
way which must forever prevent the construction of a con- 
clusive argument based upon these hypothetical powers. 
The inexorable law of suggestion interposes itself at the 
very threshold of the argument, and casts a doubt upon the 
verity of the premises. It might even be demonstrated that 
the soul's power of correct deduction from given premises 
was perfect and infallible ; yet, when the correctness of the 
premises is in doubt, the argument based upon them is 
necessarily invalid. In other words, the soul, so long as it 
inhabits the body, is never exempt from the operation of 
the law of suggestion. Hence it is often impossible to 
know whether its supposed perceptions are veridical or are 
merely subjective hallucinations resulting from auto-sugges- 
tion or from a suggestion imparted to it from some extra- 
neous source. It is evident, therefore, that we must look 
elsewhere than in hypothetical perceptions or intuitions, 
unsupported by demonstrative evidence of their verity, for 
logical proof of a future life. I have dwelt thus far upon 
the subject of the deductive power of the subjective mind, 
not because it differentiates the one mind from the other, 
except in degree, but because of its general interest in that 
it furnishes an explanation of much of the phenomena of 
so-called prevision. In the ensuing chapter I will return 
to the consideration of those faculties of the soul which 
present distinctive points of difference from the faculties 
and functions of the objective mind. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

has man a soul? (continued}. 

The Perfect Memory of the Subjective Mind. — Memory and Recol- 
lection Differentiated. — Sir William Hamilton's Views. — In- 
tuitional Powers of Perception of Nature's Laws. — The Seat of 
the Emotions. — The Three Normal Functions of the Subjective 
Mind. — The Infant's Development from Savagery to Civiliza- 
tion. — Total Depravity. — Dangers of Subjective Control. — 
Telepathy a purely Subjective Faculty. — Abnormality of Psychic 
Manifestations. — 111 Health a Condition precedent to their Pro- 
duction. — They grow Stronger as the Body grows Weaker. — 
Strongest in the Hour of Death. — The Objective Mind perishes 
with the Brain. 

HPHE fourth characteristic of the subjective mind, "which 
* distinguishes it from the objective, consists in the fact 
that the former is endowed with a perfect memory. In 
saying this, I am not unmindful of the fact that the objec- 
tive mind is also endowed with a memory ; but its mani- 
festations are feeble in comparison with the prodigious 
power of the subjective mind. Properly speaking, the 
difference between the two would be defined by the em- 
ployment of the word " memory" to designate the faculty 
in the subjective intelligence, and the word " recollection " 
to designate the corresponding faculty in the objective 
mind. Memory, in this sense, is the actual and distinct 
retention of recognition of past ideas in the mind (Web- 
ster) . Recollection is the power of recalling ideas to the 
mind ; in other words, it is the power of re-collecting the 
ideas which have once been in the mind, but are, for the 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21 3 

time being, forgotten. The latter faculty varies in strength 
in different individuals. Subjective memory is the absolute 
retention of all ideas, however superficially they may have 
been impressed upon the objective mind \ and it admits of 
no variation in power in different individuals. It must not 
be understood that all manifestations of subjective memory 
are equally perfect. That is obviously impossible, for the 
reason that subjective conditions are not always perfect ; 
but experimental hypnotism develops the fact that subjec- 
tive memory is exalted, other things being equal, just in 
proportion to the depth of the hypnosis. 

The German psychologists noted this phenomenon 
many years before the English philosophers took it into 
account ; and it was not until Sir William Hamilton brought 
it to the attention of the English-speaking public that it 
was seriously considered as a factor in psychological science. 
Sir William designated it as "mental latency;" and he 
went so far as to hold that all recollection consisted in 
rescuing from the storehouse of latent memory some part 
of its treasure. His hypothesis necessarily presupposed 
latent memory to be perfect, and he cites many cases in 
support of that supposition. The curious part of his hy- 
pothesis, however, consists in the fact that whilst he con- 
siders it a normal mental process to elevate a part of the 
latent treasures of the mind above the threshold of con- 
sciousness, he recognizes the fact that it is only under the 
most intensely abnormal conditions that the whole content 
of the magazine of latent intelligence can be brought to 
light. He says : — 

" The second degree of latency exists when the mind con- 
tains certain systems of knowledge or certain habits of action 
which it is wholly unconscious of possessing in its ordinary state, 
but which are revealed to consciousness in certain extraordi- 
nary exaltations of its powers. The evidence on this point shows 
that the mind frequently contains whole systems of knowledge 
which, though in our normal state they may have faded into 



214 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

absolute oblivion, may in certain abnormal states, as mad- 
ness, febrile delirium, somnambulism, catalepsy, etc., flash into 
luminous consciousness, and even throw into the shade of un- 
consciousness those other systems by which they had for a long 
period been eclipsed and even extinguished. For example, 
there are cases in which the extinct memory of whole languages 
was suddenly restored, and, what is even still more remarkable, 
in which the faculty was exhibited of accurately repeating, in 
known or unknown tongues, passages which were never within the 
grasp of conscious memory in the normal state. This degree, 
this phenomenon of latency, is one of the most marvellous in 
the whole compass of philosophy." * 

He then cites some most remarkable instances demon- 
strative of the perfection of subjective memory. 2 

It is obvious that Sir William had not studied the phe- 
nomena of experimental hypnotism, or he would have 
discovered many facts which his hypothesis of mental 
latency could not account for. Amongst others he would 
have discovered that physical disease of a very pronounced 
character is not essential to the production of phenomena 
exhibiting the marvellous perfection of subjective memory \ 
and that an hypnotic subject can be so trained that, even 
in an apparently normal condition, he can be caused to 
memorize a whole page of printed matter by gazing upon 
it but two seconds of time. 8 He would have found in the 
dual hypothesis a complete explanation of the facts which 
he labored in vain to explain, and a more direct road to a 
demonstration of what he labored so assiduously to prove. 

The fifth faculty of the subjective mind, which distin- 
guishes it from the objective intelligence, consists in its 
power under certain conditions, not yet clearly defined, of 
apprehending by perception or intuition, and without the 

1 Lectures on Metaphysics, p. 236. 

2 For a fuller discussion of this subject, see " The Law of Psychic 
Phenomena," ch. iv., v. See also Beasley on the Mind ; Abercrombie 
on the Intellectual Powers; and Coleridge's Biographia Literaria. 

8 See Bertolacci's Christian Spiritualism, p. 30. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 215 

aid of the process of induction, the laws of Nature. As 
this branch of the subject has been treated in a former 
chapter, it is mentioned here merely for the sake of sym- 
metrical grouping. 

The sixth distinctive characteristic of the subjective mind 
consists in the fact that it is the seat of the emotions. In 
that alone exists the emotional element in man. The ob- 
jective mind is pure intellect, — cold, deliberate, reasoning. 
During the normal physical life of man it is the domi- 
nating power in the dual mental organization. This is 
necessarily true for the reasons, first, that it would be im- 
possible for the two entities to maintain harmonious rela- 
tions if one were not normally subordinated to the other \ 
and second, that the dominant power must be that which 
is endowed with the faculty of reasoning by all processes 
and in all directions. That power is the objective mind, 
and it is enabled to maintain its ascendency solely by virtue 
of the fact that the subjective mind is normally amenable 
to control by the power of suggestion. A complete rever- 
sal of the order — that is, the subjective mind in control — 
is what constitutes insanity. A partial reversal constitutes 
partial insanity, and is also the source of all vice and im- 
morality. Indeed, vice, in this sense, is a form of insanity ; 
that is to say, the same cause operates to produce both, 
the difference being in degree only. 

Before proceeding, however, to discuss this branch of the 
subject, it is logically necessary to verify the fundamental 
proposition; namely, that the subjective mind or soul is the 
seat of the emotions. A few words will be sufficient for 
this purpose. 

It will not be denied that what we call " instinct " in 
animals is a purely subjective endowment. Its acts are per- 
formed independently of objective reason or intelligence. 

11 Instinctive acts, so far as the individual exhibiting them is 
concerned, are not the result of instruction or experience. This 



2l6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

is one of the most prominent points wherein the actions in 
question differ from those which proceed from intelligence and 
reason, performed for a definite purpose. These latter are 
necessarily due to impressions conveyed to the mind through 
the senses and nerves, and are, therefore, of eccentric origin. 
The former are prompted by a force acting altogether without 
the agency of intelligential external sensations of any kind, and 
are of internal origin." 1 

It may be defined as follows : — 

Instinct is that innate faculty of the subjective mind, 
which all organic beings possess, by which they are impelled 
to perform certain volitional acts without being prompted 
thereto by the objective intellect, which acts are preserva- 
tive of the well being or life of the individual, or of the 
species to which it belongs. 2 

There are three clearly defined instinctive emotions, two 
of which are common to all organic beings. They are : 
i. The instinct of self-preservation; 2. The instinct of 
reproduction; 3. The instinct which impels the parent to 
acts preservative of the well being or life of the offspring. 
To the last must be added that which is common to man 
and a few of the animal creation ; namely, that instinct 
which impels the individual to acts preservative of the lives 
of the members of the species to which it belongs, without 
regard to age or consanguinity. This may be regarded as 
a higher instinct ; but it is obviously the result of social or 
political organization, and is merely a modification of the 
instinct of self-preservation. To these three instinctive 
emotions of the human mind should be added a fourth, 
which is no less clearly defined, and which is well-nigh 
universal ; namely, the instinct of religious worship. This, 
however, does not pertain directly to the subject under 
consideration. It is, however, necessarily a subjective emo- 

1 Dr. William A. Hammond's Treatise on Insanity, p. 137. 

2 This is a slight modification of Dr. Hammond's clear and com- 
prehensive definition. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21 7 

tion, as it pertains exclusively to the human soul. We 
have, then, three distinct primary emotions of the mind 
which are obviously and necessarily attributes of the sub- 
jective mind, as distinguished from the objective intelli- 
gence. In man they all pertain to the perpetuation of the 
human race, and their resultant acts constitute the normal 
functions of the human soul. Moreover, they are the only 
normal functions of the soul in its relations to the physical 
organization. 

Leaving out of present consideration the emotion of reli- 
gious worship, all human emotions are traceable to one or 
the other of the primary instinctive emotions just men- 
tioned; that is to say, all emotions are modifications or 
combinations of the primary emotions. This being true, it 
follows that my original proposition is true; namely, that 
the subjective mind or soul is the seat of the emotions. 

Now, inasmuch as all immorality, vice, and crime are per- 
versions of the human emotions or passions, it follows that 
immorality, vice, and crime are the results of giving to the 
subjective mind undue control of the dual mental organi- 
zation. In other words, Reason abdicates her rightful au- 
thority and power, and the subjective mind usurps its place, 
but without having the ability to perform its functions. 

That this is true, is evidenced by every phenomenon of 
physical and mental life and growth. Thus, the history of 
the life of every human being from infancy to adult age, is 
an epitome of the history of the development of the race 
from savagery to civilization. The newly born infant is 
purely subjective ; its objective mind is a blank. It is then 
governed alone by instinct. It is an animal, with nothing 
in its mental development to distinguish it from the cub of 
the bear or the lion's whelp, except its physical conforma- 
tion and its more absolute helplessness. It quickly develops 
from the purely animal existence, but the first step in its 
evolution is to a state of savagery. Its instincts are wholly 



2l8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

selfish, it is destitute of conscience, and totally oblivious of 
the rights of others. Its next step is to a state of bar- 
barism. That "the small boy is a barbarian" is a vulgar 
statement of a scientific truth ; and the saying belongs to the 
vocabulary of Evolution. From barbarism he soon emerges 
into semi-barbarism, then to civilization, and finally to en- 
lightenment. The point to be noted is that the various 
steps in advance are due wholly to objective education. 
Modified to a certain extent by heredity, the degree of a 
child's progress from infancy to manhood, or rather from 
savagery toward enlightenment, is determined by its envi- 
ronment; that is, by the character of its objective educa- 
tion. In other words, just, in proportion to the excellence 
of the mental and moral training of the objective mind, 
and just in proportion to its dominating power over the 
subjective faculties, will be the excellence of the moral 
character of the individual. If this training has been good, 
and if objective reason has exercised its legitimate control 
over the subjective passions or propensities, — in short, if 
normal conditions are allowed to prevail, a perfect men- 
tality and a lofty moral altitude will be reached. But if, 
for want of proper training, the subjective mind is allowed 
to maintain in adult life that ascendency which is its nor- 
mal condition in infancy, moral degradation, if not crime 
or insanity, is sure to result. The doctrine which affirmed 
the "total depravity" of the "natural man" derived its 
origin from a constant observation of these phenomena of 
the human mind ; and, in the absence of all knowledge of 
the true relationship existing between the two minds, of 
their respective and relative powers, functions, and limita- 
tions, who shall say that the conclusions of the ancient 
philosophers were not justified? The control of the sub- 
jective mind by the objective, through the power of sugges- 
tion, is normally absolute and perfect when that power is 
asserted and maintained. Nevertheless, there appears to 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 219 

come a time in every man's life when there is a conflict of 
jurisdiction, — a struggle for ascendency between the nat- 
ural passions and instinctive propensities on the one hand, 
and the restraints of reason, morality, and religion on the 
other. Saint Paul, in graphic phrases, gives expression to 
that inward conflict when he says : — 

" I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is pres- 
ent with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward 
man : but I see another law in my members, warring against 
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law 
of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am ! 
who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? " 

Saint Paul's experience is by no means unique ; but the 
remedy is in the hands of every normal man ; and that is 
to assert and maintain the ascendency of objective reason 
over the instinctive emotions. Not that there is anything 
inherently sinful or abnormal in their legitimate indulgence, 
for there is not. Like every other faculty of the human 
mind and soul, they have their legitimate sphere of opera- 
tion ; and their normal exercise is beneficent. Without it 
the world would be depopulated in a generation. With it 
was organic evolution made possible. The danger lies, not 
so much in sporadic cases of predominant passion in the 
otherwise normal man ; but there is an appalling and con- 
stantly growing danger in the modern tendency towards 
the cultivation of subjective powers in utter ignorance of 
the fundamental laws which pertain to their operation. It 
is a danger which in its tendencies threatens the founda- 
tions of civil society ; for it presents itself in such insidious 
guise that the innocent alike with the guilty are in danger 
of being drawn within its vortex. This, however, is a 
branch of the subject which must be treated in a future 
chapter, and I will therefore no longer digress. 

The seventh faculty possessed exclusively by the subjec- 
tive entity consists of the power to move ponderable 



220 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

objects without physical contact. In this it is meant to 
include all the physical phenomena of so-called spirit mani- 
festations. I need not dwell upon this branch of the sub- 
ject, for the phenomena are so thoroughly attested that it 
would be a waste of time to attempt to convince those who 
mistake ignorance for scepticism. Besides, to those who 
agree with me in ascribing these manifestations to the 
agency of the psychic who produces the phenomena, it is 
self-evident that it is by the subjective entity that they are 
produced. All others will agree that they are not due to 
any known physical power. Moreover, the subject has 
been so fully treated in "The Law of Psychic Phenomena " 
that it could not be enlarged upon here without unseemly 
repetition. 

The eighth faculty or power of the subjective mind 
which clearly and sharply differentiates it from the objective 
mind, is that of telepathy, or the power of one mind to 
communicate intelligence to another, otherwise than through 
the recognized channels of the senses. That this power 
exists, is no longer a matter of doubt in well-informed scien- 
tific circles. It was demonstrated many years ago by the 
old mesmerists who succeeded Mesmer ; and if any reason- 
able doubt existed after their demonstrations, it has within 
the last decade been dispelled by the carefully conducted 
scientific experiments of the Society for Psychical Research. 
That Society, in addition to its regular " Proceedings/' a 
large volume of which appears every year, has caused to 
be published two large volumes, aggregating over thirteen 
hundred pages, entitled " Phantasms of the Living/' which 
are filled with demonstrative evidence of the existence of 
the power of telepathy. This work, however, is now out of 
print ; but it has recently been ably supplemented by a 
small volume by Frank Podmore, one of the secretaries of 
the Society for Psychical Research, which gives, in concise 
form, a resume of the evidence which has been collected 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 221 

by the Society since its organization in 1882. In fact, the 
evidence is accumulating in every intelligent household in 
the civilized world. Circumstances innumerable, which 
were in former times passed by as curious coincidences, 
or were ascribed to supermundane agency, are now intel- 
ligently observed and referred to their proper source, since 
science has rescued the phenomena from the domain of 
superstition. 

At first it was supposed that the phenomenon pertained 
solely to the objective mind, and that what the agent was 
consciously thinking of was necessarily that w T hich was con- 
veyed to the mind of the percipient. But that theory was 
soon abandoned in view of constantly occurring phenomena 
which could not be thus explained. Thus it was found 
that thoughts were transmitted which were not consciously 
in the agent's mind ; and that, as Podmore observes, — 

" The idea can be transferred from the sub-conscious to the 
sub-conscious ; and indeed there is some ground for thinking 
that, outside of direct experiment, the intervention of the con- 
scious [objective] mind in the telepathic transmission of thought 
is exceptional. Even in some of the most striking experimental 
cases it has been shown that either agent or percipient, or both, 
were asleep or entranced at the time." x 

These conclusions, although expressed with the caution of 
the true scientist, are obviously correct. In telepathic 
experiments by means of hypnotism, the subjective mind of 
the percipient is alone concerned. Indeed, all the evi- 
dence on the subject goes to prove that telepathy is a power 
belonging exclusively to the subjective mind ; and that in 
the spontaneous exercise of that power it is by mere acci- 
dent that the objective mind participates in, or is cognizant 
of, either the transmission or the reception of the communi- 
cation. That is to say, it is quite evident that telepathic 
communion is very common, if not constant, between mem- 

1 Apparitions and Thought-Transference, p. 391. 



222 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

bers of the same family, or those who have a vital interest 
in each other's welfare ; although it is comparatively rare 
that the content of the communication is elevated above 
the threshold of normal or objective consciousness of either 
the agent or the percipient. As I have pointed out in the 
chapters on spiritism, it is to the fact that telepathy is 
purely a subjective power that all the seeming mystery at- 
tached to so-called spirit communications is to be attributed. 
It is clear, therefore, that the power of telepathy has 
nothing in common with objective methods of communica- 
tions between mind and mind ; and that it is not the prod- 
uct of muscle or nerve or any physiological combination 
whatever, but rather sets these at naught, with their impli- 
cations of space and time. 

" It is a quality that defies distance, is instantaneous, is not 
dependent on terrestrial states, is most apparent in our least 
conscious moods and in our least wakeful hours, is strongest in 
the undeveloped intellectually, is conspicuous in the moments 
when organization is dissolving, in the hour of death, — is cer- 
tainly as near to our conception of soul as a thing can be." * 

The ninth characteristic of the subjective entity which 
clearly differentiates it from the objective mind, in power, 
function, and attribute, consists of the fact that its activity 
and power are in inverse proportion to the vigor of the 
body. This is the most important of all of the distinctive 
differences between the two minds or intelligences, for it 
is not only a strong argument for the existence in man of a 
distinct entity, but it goes far towards proving that this 
entity is capable of sustaining an existence independently 
of the body. If a man has a power that transcends the 
senses, it is at least presumptive evidence that it does not 
perish when the senses are extinguished. 

That the activity and power of the subjective mind is 
in inverse proportion to that of the body, is evidenced by 

1 O. B Frothingham, in Harper's Magazine, August, i860, p. 205. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 223 

every phenomenon of subjective mental action. Beginning 
with the simplest hypnotic experiment upon a healthy 
subject, in the first stage of subjective activity the physical 
condition of the patient can hardly be distinguished from 
the normal. Deepen the hypnosis, and the subjective mani- 
festations will increase in power and intensity. Continue 
the process until a hypnotic lethargy is induced, and the 
manifestations will continue to grow stronger in proportion. 
This must be understood as a general statement of a con- 
dition which, within certain limits, varies with each individ- 
ual. There are, however, many psychics whose strongest 
manifestations are produced while the body is in an appar- 
ently normal condition. In fact, no general rule can be 
laid down which will apply to all cases, except this, that, 
the longer and more persistently the production of psychic 
phenemena is followed up, the weaker will become the 
physical organism of the psychic. But as this branch of 
the subject will be treated in a future chapter, I will come 
direct to the salient point to which I wish to invite atten- 
tion. It is this : When disease seizes the physical frame 
and the body grows feeble, the objective mind invariably 
grows correspondingly weak. Not so the subjective mind ; 
for, as the body grows weak, the subjective mind grows 
strong, and it is strongest in the hour of death. Indeed, 
when death approaches, no matter what form it assumes, the 
moment its inevitability is realized, it is no longer feared, 
and pain ceases. At that supreme moment the subjective 
mind takes complete possession, the objective senses are 
benumbed, the body is anaesthetized, and the patient dies, 
"without pain and without regret " (Hammond). In the 
mean time, as the objective mind ceases to perform its 
functions, the subjective mind is most active and powerful. 
The individual may never before have exhibited any psychic 
power, and may never have consciously produced any 
psychic phenomena ; yet at the supreme moment his soul 



224 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

is in active communion with loved ones at a distance, and 
the death message is often, when psychic conditions are 
favorable, consciously received. The records of telepathy 
demonstrate this proposition. Nay, more ; they may be 
cited to show that in the hour of death the soul is capable 
of projecting a phantasm of such strength and objectivity 
that it may be an object of sensorial experience to those 
for whom it is intended. Moreover, it has happened that 
telepathic messages have been sent by the dying, at the 
moment of dissolution, giving all the particulars of the 
tragedy, when the death was caused by an unexpected 
blow which crushed the skull of the victim. It is obvious 
that in such a case it is impossible that the objective mind 
could have participated in the transaction. The evidence 
is, indeed, overwhelming, that, no matter what form death 
may assume, whether caused by lingering disease, old 
age, or violence, the subjective mind is never weakened 
by its approach or its presence. On the other hand, that 
the objective mind weakens with the body and perishes 
with the brain, is a fact confirmed by every-day observation 
and universal experience. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



has man a soul? (continued). 



Recapitulation. — A Prima Facie Case. — Concurrent and Antago- 
nistic Hypotheses. — The Law of Suggestion. — A Case of." Me- 
diumistic " Development. — The Alleged Spirit Control assumes a 
Dictatorship. — It develops a Passion for Music. — Music the 
Language of the Emotions. — A purely Subjective Faculty. — 
Subjective Music and Objective Music Differentiated. — The 
Dual-Mind Theory. — Absurdities Involved in the Single-Mind 
Theory. 

TT must now be provisionally assumed that it has been 
* proven that the subjective mind is endowed with 
powers, and circumscribed by limitations, which clearly 
differentiate it from the objective mind. For convenience 
of reference and facility of recollection, the following 
recapitulation is presented : — 

i. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control 
by the power of suggestion. 

2. It is incapable of independent reasoning by the pro- 
cesses of induction. 

3. Its power to reason deductively from given premises 
to correct conclusions is practically perfect. 

4. It is endowed with a perfect memory. 

5. It is the seat of the emotions. 

6. It possesses the power to move ponderable objects 
without physical contact. 

7. It has the power to communicate and receive intelli- 
gence otherwise than through the recognized channels of 
the senses. 

15 



226 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

8. Its activity and power are inversely proportionate to 
the vigor and healthfuiness of the physical organism. 

9. It is endowed with the faculties of instinct and intui- 
tion, and, under certain conditions, with the power of 
intuitive cognition or perception of the laws of Nature. 

It needs no argument or illustration to show that the 
objective mind has little in common with the subjective in 
any of the foregoing attributes, powers, and limitations. 
The objective mind (1) is manifestly not controllable by 
the power of suggestion in the sense in which the sub- 
jective mind is so controlled, — that is, against reason, 
experience, and the evidence of the senses; 2. It is ca- 
pable of inductive reasoning; 3. Its power of deductive 
reasoning is by no means perfect, nor does it approach 
perfection ; 4. Its memory, in its best estate, is very 
defective, and, comparatively speaking, amounts to nothing 
more than an uncertain, evanescent ability to recall a 
few of the more prominent ideas and impressions which 
it has once experienced ; 5 . It is absolutely destitute of 
emotion ; 6. It cannot exercise the slightest kinetic force 
beyond the range of physical contact ; 7. It is destitute of 
any power remotely akin to telepathy; 8. The essential 
prerequisite to the successful exercise of its highest powers 
and functions is a perfectly sound, healthy, normal physical 
organism; 9. It is endowed with no power which is re- 
motely akin to instinct or intuition. 

I submit that the mental characteristics of no two indi- 
viduals ever presented a more violent contrast than exists 
between the objective and subjective minds of the human 
entity, in all their essential powers, functions, and limitations. 
I might claim the logical right to rest my case at this point ; 
for it must be remembered that I have thus far sought not 
to prove the immortality of the soul, but to demonstrate the 
fact that man has a soul. In other words, I have merely 
sought to prove that which I have for convenience desig- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 227 

nated the " subjective mind" is in reality the mind of a 
distinct entity, and not merely one set or series of faculties 
which perform their functions under one condition of the 
body, whilst another set of faculties perform their functions 
under other bodily conditions. I say I might claim the 
logical right to rest my case here ; for I submit that the 
bare statement of the facts which differentiate the two minds 
constitutes prima facie evidence that they belong to two 
distinct entities. The onus probandi, therefore, rests with 
those who hold the materialistic hypothesis, that man is a 
soulless being, possessing no attributes or powers that 
cannot be accounted for by reference to cerebral anatomy 
and physiology. I do not, however, intend to stop here, 
but will now proceed to show that there is no way of 
rationally accounting for the facts other than to predicate 
the actual existence in mankind of an entity which, in the 
vocabulary of spiritual philosophy, is denominated the soul. 

The nature of the question, broadly speaking, admits of 
but two hypotheses. One is that the facts presuppose the 
existence of two separate and distinct minds, belonging to 
two separate, or separable, entities ; and the other is that 
there is but one mind having two distinct planes of 
consciousness, or two sets of faculties. One or the other of 
these hypotheses is the true one. They cannot both be 
true, and yet, for the purpose of demonstrating the immor- 
tality of the soul, it is a matter of indifference which of the 
two is adopted : whether we consider man as having two 
distinct minds, or as having one mind which manifests 
certain attributes and powers under certain conditions, and 
other attributes and powers under certain other conditions, 
provided only that the crucial fact remains that certain of 
those powers and functions do not pertain to this life. In 
other words, it is a matter of indifference whether we employ 
the words " dual mind," or "two minds," or "two sets of 
faculties;" for the same logical result follows, whatever 



228 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION * 

terminology may be employed in the discussion of the 
broad and pregnant fact that two sets of faculties exist in 
man, each possessing independent powers, functions, and 
limitations. Facts are independent of hypotheses. Facts 
are primordial. Hypothesis is an instrument of logic for 
the scientific investigation of facts. Hypotheses, considered 
in their relations to each other, are divisible into two classes ; 
namely, concurrent and antagonistic. Concurrent hypoth- 
eses are those of which the ultimate conclusions coincide. 
Antagonistic hypotheses are those of which the ultimate 
conclusions are variant. It is often a matter of indifference 
which of two concurrent hypotheses is the correct one \ and 
it is often impossible to ascertain with certainty which is 
scientifically correct. It is, however, generally ascertained, 
sooner or later, by the failure of one to explain facts collat- 
eral to the main question, but resident within its purview. 
When that occurs, the true scientist will immediately resort 
to the other, providing that one explains all the facts. 

The hypotheses of duality of mind on the one hand, 
and of unitary mind with two sets of faculties on the other, 
are illustrations of concurrent hypotheses, inasmuch as their 
ultimate conclusions regarding a future life are identical; 
that is to say, they are each founded upon the one fact that 
man possesses subjective faculties that perform no normal 
function in physical life, and objective faculties which can 
perform no function in spiritual life. The conclusions are 
necessarily identical ; namely, that faculties which perform 
no normal functions in this life must necessarily belong to a 
future life. Hence I have remarked, here and elsewhere, 1 
that the dual theory is not a necessary premise to enable us 
to arrive at correct ultimate conclusions. That theory, how- 
ever, will be constantly advanced, partly for the sake of 
clearness of statement, but principally because it is firmly 
believed to be scientifically correct. It must be borne in 

1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. i. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 229 

mind, however, that one mind with two sets of faculties is 
virtual duality ; especially if it can be shown by reference to 
anatomy, as well as by experimental surgery, that there are 
actually existent two organs of mind. This I shall proceed 
to show in the succeeding chapter. In the mean time the 
dual hypothesis certainly explains all the facts, — that is to 
say, everything happens just as though man possessed a dual 
mind ; and that is all that can be required of a working 
hypothesis. 

The spiritistic hypothesis as opposed to the telepathic is 
a fair example of antagonistic hypotheses ; for the conclusions 
are variant, and so are the hypotheses. I speak of spiritism 
as an "hypothesis," although it is hardly deserving of that 
designation \ for it is, in fact, merely a short and easy 
method of avoiding, rather than promoting, a truly scientific 
investigation of the subject-matter. But, such as it is, it is 
an exceedingly convenient hypothesis ; and, for the use of 
those who imagine that simplicity is a test of truth, it is 
admirably adapted. It is a summary way of disposing of an 
intricate problem, — of avoiding a difficulty instead of 
investigating its cause. It should be constantly borne in 
mind that an hypothesis is not a final dogma. It is, as 
before remarked, merely an instrument of investigation. To 
establish it as a scientific truth, there are two prerequisites : 
1. It must explain all the facts; 2. There must be no 
other hypothesis capable of explaining all the facts. When 
these conditions are present, then, and not till then, is an 
hypothesis elevated to the dignity of a scientific truth, an 
established principle, a theorem. 

I have made the foregoing remarks, at some risk of repe- 
tition, for the reason that I desire the reader to keep con- 
stantly in mind the fundamental principles of scientific 
investigation, and for the further reason that I desire him 
to measure the value of my arguments, past and future, by 
the highest known standards of scientific inquiry. 



23O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

We will now briefly consider the nine propositions which 
set forth the salient characteristics of the subjective mind, 
and which seem to warrant us in postulating the dual-mind 
hypothesis. 

The first in the order of statement as well as of importance 
relates to the law of suggestion. When that law was first 
discovered, its full import was not realized. As I have 
heretofore pointed out, it was discovered in the course of 
scientific experiments on hypnotic subjects, and it was, con- 
sequently, regarded as a law pertaining exclusively to experi- 
mental hypnotism. As long as the law was supposed to be 
confined to that narrow field of operation, the dual hy- 
pothesis was unnecessary; for most of the phenomena of 
experimental hypnotism could be accounted for on the 
theory that in the artificially induced hypnotic state the 
mind of the subject could be dominated by the sugges- 
tions of the hypnotist. But when it was discovered that 
the law of suggestion is the dominating principle which 
gives character and direction to all psychic phenomena, it 
was found that the single-mind theory was inadequate. And 
this inadequacy became more marked when it was discov- 
ered that a psychic can control his own subjective manifes- 
tations by exercising the power now known and recognized 
in the scientific world as " auto-suggestion." When this 
power is fully realized, it will be found to be demonstrative 
of the dual hypothesis, in that it fully and easily explains all 
the facts ; whereas the single-mind theory is adequate to 
explain but very few, and the few that it can account for 
are of the least possible significance. As a single illustra- 
tive instance where the single-mind theory fails, it may be 
remarked that it has again and again been demonstrated 
that, by persistent auto-suggestion, the objective mind can 
control the subjective in direct contravention, not only to 
the beliefs, but to the positive knowledge of the former. 
Again, it is well known that, under the influence of sugges- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 23 I 

tion, the subjective mind will not only assume control, but 
will act in direct opposition to the volition of the objective 
mind. An illustrative case has been brought to my atten- 
tion as I write. A gentleman of this city had been in- 
duced to join a " developing circle" of spiritists who 
desired to establish a direct and independent line of com- 
munication with the other world. He very soon developed 
the power of automatic writing, and some very remarkable 
results ensued. As might have been expected, the power 
which moved his hand to write told him many things which 
he did not objectively know, and gave many remarkable 
exhibitions of power which constituted conclusive evidence 
to his mind of spirit identity and of the truth of the spirit- 
istic hypothesis. But the remarkable feature of the case 
was that it soon began to assume a sort of dictatorship over 
his daily conduct, and on lines which he had least reason to 
anticipate. For instance, although he was not particularly 
devoted to music, yet his "control" insisted on being 
taken to concerts, oftentimes to his great inconvenience. 
When the "control" desired any indulgence, the gentle- 
man was apprised of the fact by feeling a decided sensa- 
tion in his right arm and hand, which sensation the gentleman 
soon learned to recognize as evincing a desire on the part 
of his "control" to communicate in writing. He often 
felt the impulse while walking the streets, and, upon being 
furnished a tablet and pencil, the "control" would direct 
him to go, perhaps to an adjoining street, to listen to a 
hand-organ. Sometimes it would ask for indulgences which 
were decidedly out of harmony with the settled moral prin- 
ciples of the gentleman's life ; and so persistent were the 
requests that he was finally obliged to refuse to allow any 
communication in writing except on condition that those 
subjects should be tabooed. Fortunately the gentleman 
had not gone so far as to cease to desire to resist the 
subjective impulses ; and he saw his danger in time to 



232 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

avoid its consequences. He had a superficial acquaintance 
with the law of suggestion and the theory of a subjective 
personality, but could not harmonize his experiences with 
that hypothesis. " The 6 control ' acted with perfect inde- 
pendence," he reasoned, "and frequently in decided op- 
position to my wishes, — that is, to the suggestions of my 
objective mind. How could that occur if the law of sug- 
gestion controls the subjective mind? " The answer is easy 
and perfect. The first and ever dominant suggestion in his 
mind was that the " control" was a spirit from the other 
world. His whole environment, during the time of the de- 
velopment of the power of automatic writing, was such as 
to force that suggestion upon his mind. He was in a 
" circle " organized for the purpose of obtaining communi- 
cations from spirits of the dead ; and all the communica- 
tions were received under that suggestion. The " control," 
therefore, was assumed from the start to be an extraneous, 
independent, dominant, irresponsible power, which the 
medium could in no wise control or direct. That was 
the primary "suggestion" under which the "control" 
acted; and it necessarily carried out that suggestion by 
acting the part assigned to it. Of course, the idea never 
occurred to the gentleman that the very fact that the so- 
called spirit insisted on being taken to a concert was 
demonstrative that the intelligence was his own, and was 
inseparable from his physical organism for the time being. 
If it had been a foreign spirit possessing the powers as- 
cribed to such spirits, it would seem that it could have 
heard the concert without the necessity of making a draft 
upon the gentleman's purse or his time. Be this as it 
may, the very vocabulary of spiritistic circles conveys the 
suggestion that the communicating intelligence is in " con- 
trol " of the medium. If it did not act accordingly, and 
assume the right to control the medium, often in oppo- 
sition to subsequent suggestions, the law of suggestion 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 233 

would have no place in the science of experimental 
psychology. 

I have, of course, assumed that the " control" in this 
case was the gentleman's own subjective mind, and that the 
phenomena were produced in strict accordance with the 
laws which govern all subjective mental activity. Indeed, 
the phenomena are illustrative of those laws and principles 
in more than one sense of the word. As we have already 
seen, they illustrate one of the most subtle and intricate 
phases of the operation of the universal law of suggestion. 
They also incidentally illustrate a phase of subjective mental 
characteristics to which as yet little attention has been given 
by students of experimental psychology ; namely, the power 
of music over the subjective mind. Some attention was 
given to it in my former work \ 1 and Dr. Aldred S. Warthin, 
Ph. D., M. D., of the Michigan University, has made some 
very interesting experiments — as yet incomplete, however 
— illustrative of " Some Physiologic Effects of Music in 
Hypnotized Subjects," to which I have alluded in a former 
chapter. Chomet, a French author, has also written a work 
entitled " Effets et Influence de la Musique sur la Sante" et 
sur la Maladie ; " and Vigna, an Italian, has given us " Sull' 
importanza fisiologica e terapeutica della Musica." Little 
advance, however, has been made in the study of the phys- 
iological effects of music, although there is no doubt that 
the field offers rich results to the student who will give 
patient and intelligent attention to that line of experimental 
investigation. It will probably be found, however, that the 
physiologic effects are due to reflex action of the emotions 
upon the physical system, and not to any direct vibratory 
action upon the nerves. It should therefore first be 
studied as a psychological problem. 

Music has been loosely described, by those who recognize 
its subjective origin, as " a passion of the human soul." 

1 See " The Law of Psvchic Phenomena/' ch. vi. 



2 34 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

This is not scientifically correct. It may properly be de- 
scribed, however, as being at once the minister and inter- 
prete?' of every emotion and every passion of the human 
soul. It is purely subjective ; that is to say, all good music 
is a product of the subjective mind. It is true that the 
objective mind is capable of directing the muscles so as to 
play, and play correctly, an intricate piece of music. It is 
also true that a machine can be constructed upon which any 
one who can turn a crank can correctly play the same piece 
of music. The sounds in the two cases are identical in 
character, — hard, mechanical, soulless. It is only when 
the muscles have been trained to the point of automatism, 
to use the common phraseology, or, speaking with scientific 
precision, it is only when the subjective mind directs the 
movements of the fingers so perfectly that the objective 
mind can employ itself with other thoughts, that true music 
can be produced, the emotions of the musician's soul ex- 
pressed, or the passions of the listener made to respond. 
Mechanical music, whether played by a man or a machine, 
can never inspire the human soul with emotions of love or 
of patriotism, or lead the warrior to face the cannon's 
mouth, unless, indeed, the hearer's subjective mind by its 
interpretive power supplies the missing stimulus. Even 
the diabolical sounds of a bagpipe, when that instrument 
is tortured by an inspired native, will move the soul of a 
Scotchman to a frenzy of patriotism. 

To say that the difference consists, not in the instrument 
that is played, but in the manner in which it is played, would be 
a trite and commonplace observation. The true explanation 
possesses a far deeper significance. The difference between 
good and poor music, or rather between real music and its 
counterfeit, is determined by the source from which each 
emanates. Music has its origin in the subjective mind. It 
is the language of the soul, and is expressive of its every 
passion and emotion. Like the song of the bird, it is the 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 235 

cry of love, longing, passion, hope. It may also be the wail 
of despondency and despair, if what the Latin poet tells us 
be true, — 

" Dulcia defecta modulatur carmina lingua, 
Cantatur cygnus, funeris ipse sui." 

In short, it is the most subtle medium provided, by Nature 
whereby soul can speak to soul that language of the emotions 
which cannot, by a kindred soul, be misinterpreted. 

Its primary function is to give expression to those emo- 
tions which constitute the motive force in the perpetuation 
of the species. It is the language of love. Like every 
other faculty of the soul, it has its normal functions and 
its abnormal manifestations. It is, necessarily, as foreign 
to the objective mind as are the emotions to which it gives 
expression. 

But this is a digression. It has been indulged in partly 
for the reason that I desire, incidentally, to give to music 
its proper place in the classification of subjective phenom- 
ena (for I shall have more to say on the subject hereafter) ; 
and partly because it affords a striking illustration of the 
two-mind theory. Primarily, however, my object in citing 
the case was to give a fair illustration of the subtle and intri- 
cate workings of the law of suggestion, and to point out 
some of the sources of error against which it is necessary 
constantly to guard. In concluding this branch of the sub- 
ject it is only necessary to remark that it seems obvious, 
even at this stage of the argument, that whilst the two-mind 
theory certainly affords an ample explanation of all the facts 
of suggestion, the theory of a single mind is totally inade- 
quate for the purpose, unless we assume two sets of faculties, 
which amounts, practically, to duality. It is difficult, how- 
ever, to argue a self-evident proposition ; and one is some- 
times compelled to draw attention to the absurdities involved 
in its opposite. In the question under consideration, for 



236 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

instance, the bare presentation of the facts of auto-sugges- 
tion compels assent to the two-mind theory as a self-evident 
solution of the problem. And yet, for the present assuming 
that a physical demonstration is impossible, it may not be 
unprofitable to draw the attention of the reader to the ab- 
surdities involved in the one-mind theory. To that end let 
us state the essential proposition relating to the phenomena 
of auto-suggestion which the one-mind theory necessarily 
presupposes to be true. It is this : " One mind is able, by 
auto-suggestion, to convince itself of the truth of a propo- 
sition which it knows to be false." It will at once be seen, 
not only that the proposition involves a palpable absurdity, 
but it also involves a positive contradiction in terms. Now, 
there is no rule of logic more manifestly and self- evidently 
valid than that a proposition involving a positive contra- 
diction in terms is necessarily false. And yet, if we are to 
accept the one-mind theory as the true one, we must be 
prepared to accept as true a proposition which, by its very 
terms, is absolutely untrue. Nevertheless, in one sense of 
the word, it is true that an individual (mark the distinction) 
may, by auto-suggestion, convince himself of the truth of a 
proposition which he knows to be false ; but that is an ab- 
surdly loose and unscientific way of stating the proposition. 
Stated as follows, it is manifestly true : " The objective mind 
of an individual may, by auto-suggestion, convince his sub- 
jective mind that a proposition is true, which proposition 
his objective mind knows to be false." The proposition, 
thus stated, will receive the instant assent of every alienist 
who has intelligently studied the facts of experimental psy- 
chology. He will at least agree that, considered as a working 
hypothesis for the systematic study of the problems of in- 
sanity, the dual-mind theory is perfect. I submit that a 
perfect working hypothesis is necessarily a true one. 

The next proposition in the order of statement is that 
" the subjective mind is incapable of independent reason- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 237 

ing by the processes of induction." This, as before stated, 
is a corollary of the law of suggestion \ and much of what 
has been said will apply with equal force to this proposition. 
It is obvious that the dual hypothesis affords the only solu- 
tion of the problem ; for it is manifestly unthinkable that 
one mind can at once be capable and incapable of induc- 
tive reasoning. 

The third proposition, which relates to the power of the 
subjective mind to reason deductively from given premises 
to correct conclusions, may be dismissed with the statement 
that it is not set down as one of the powers which differen- 
tiate the two minds by antithesis. The difference is only in 
degree ; but it is so enormous that it must be held to be 
cumulative evidence of duality. 

The same remarks apply with even greater force to the 
fourth proposition, which relates to the perfect memory of 
the subjective mind. Its prodigious positive power in that 
direction, when compared with the feeble efforts at recol- 
lection of the objective mind, has all the effect of contrast, 
and must be considered as an important factor in the prob- 
lem of duality. It is certainly difficult to imagine one 
mind as being possessed of two sets, as it were, of faculties, 
with identical functions differing only in degree, whilst the 
more perfect of the two is observable only under abnormal 
conditions of the body. 

The fifth and sixth propositions, relating, respectively, 
to the emotional nature of the subjective mind, and to its 
power of moving ponderable objects without physical con- 
tact, have been sufficiently discussed already. The seventh 
and eighth propositions, relating, respectively, to telepathy 
and the abnormality of subjective activity, can be more 
appropriately discussed in forthcoming chapters. In the 
mean time it can be truthfully said that the distinctive 
characteristics embraced in the four propositions last 
named, present in themselves indubitable evidence of the 



238 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

truth of the dual hypothesis, in that there is no other 
rational way of accounting for all the varied phenomena 
which they represent. 

The ninth proposition will be discussed in a separate 
chapter. 



CHAPTER XV. 

DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY ANATOMY. 

The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind. — Surgeon-General 
Hammond's Researches and Experiments. — The Instinctive 
Faculties. — The Subjective Mind acts independently of the 
Brain. — Instinctive Acts Performed after the Brain was totally 
eliminated. — Children Born without a Brain perform all the In- 
stinctive Functions. — The Medulla Oblongata and the Spinal 
Cord the Organs of the Subjective Mind. — Idiots without a Brain 
evince Talent for Music, Mathematics, etc. 

'"FHUS far the proofs adduced in support of the dual 
* hypothesis have been confined to the facts of ex- 
perimental hypnotism and the various other forms of 
psychic phenomena. This has been done for the reason 
that in themselves those facts are amply demonstrative 
of the truth of the hypothesis. But it has often been 
asked if the facts of cerebral anatomy, physiology, or 
experimental surgery throw any light whatever upon the 
subject. This is a pertinent question, because, if those 
facts are irreconcilable with the hypothesis, the latter must 
fail under the inexorable rule that one clearly demon- 
strated adverse fact is sufficient to disprove the most 
plausible hypothesis. If, therefore, the dual hypothesis 
is the true one, all the facts of Nature, whether of psychic 
phenomena or of physical structure, must conspire to 
demonstrate it. At least, there must be no fact that will 
disprove it. Thus, if it could be clearly demonstrated 
that the brain is the sole organ of the mind, the hypothesis 
of duality must fail for want of a plurality of organs through 



24O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

which a second mind could manifest itself. It is true that 
the brain itself is dual in a purely physical sense, — that 
is, there are two hemispheres \ but it is demonstrable 
that they are duplicate organs of the same mind. There 
is no evidence (except in novels r ) that the two hemi- 
spheres are not identical in function and normally syn- 
chronous in action. 

If, therefore, duality of mind is to be demonstrated by 
reference to the physical structure of the animal man, we 
must expect to find an organ for one of the minds outside 
of the brain and measurably independent of its conditions 
or even of its existence. It must, moreover, be the organ 
of the subjective mind ; for it is demonstrable that the brain 
is the organ of the objective faculties. The organ of the 
subjective mind must, therefore, be the organ of the instinc- 
tive faculties. If it is the organ of the instinctive faculties, 
it is necessarily the organ of the faculties of intuition and 
all the others which have been designated as subjective. 

Fortunately we have not far to look for demonstrative 
evidence that the required organ exists, not only in man, 
but in the lower animals as well. In support of this 
declaration I shall now cite some passages from the writ- 
ings of one of the ablest living scientists ; namely, Surgeon- 
General Hammond. What he has said on the subject 
was written without reference to the dual hypothesis, and 
certainly without reference to its bearings upon the ques- 
tion of a future life. It has, therefore, all the greater 
evidential value, for that it was written solely in the inter- 
ests of pure science, and by one whose professional reputa- 
tion as an alienist is international, whose works have been 
translated into every modern language, and are used as text- 
books by the medical profession in every civilized country. 

More than twenty years ago Dr. Hammond delivered an 
address before the New York Neurological Society, entitled 

1 See n The Hoosier Schoolmaster." 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 24 1 

"The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind," in which he 
demonstrated his thesis by a collection of authorities, by 
original experiments, and by arguments which have never 
been successfully controverted. In one of his later works 1 
he has incorporated the gist of that address in a chapter 
entitled " The Seat of Instinct." It is from the latter work 
that I make the following extracts : — 

" The brain of man is more highly developed than that of 
any other animal ; he has reasoning powers in excess of those 
possessed by any living being ; his mind governs the world, 
and, not content with that, seeks for knowledge of those spheres 
beyond that in which he dwells. But, with all this, he is sur- 
passed by almost every other animal in the ability to perform 
acts instinctively, — by beings, in fact, whose brains are infinitely 
less perfect than his, and by others which have no organs cor- 
sponding to a brain. 

" If the instinct of man were seated in his brain, he would 
doubtless exhibit a development of this faculty so great as to 
place him on that score as high as he now stands as regards 
his mind. 

" Going back, for the present, to some of the lower animals, 
we find that we are able, by certain experimental procedures, 
to settle some points relative to the seat of instinct with abso- 
lute certainty. 

"1. It does not reside exclusively in the brain. The brain of 
many animals, especially of those belonging to the class of 
reptiles, can be removed without the animal suffering any very 
considerable immediate inconvenience. In such cases the 
instinct remains unimpaired. Thus Maine de Biran states 
that, according to Perrault, a viper, the head of which had 
been cut off, moved without deviation to its hole in the wall. 
It is impossible that the viper could have seen, heard, smelt, 
tasted, or felt the wall. It could only have gone toward it 
instinctively, through the action of a force not residing in its 
brain, and altogether independent of perception. 

" It is an instinct in certain animals to swim when placed in 
water. I removed the entire brain of a frog, and, after waiting 
a few minutes for the animal to recover from the shock of the 
operation, I placed it in a tub of water. It immediately began 

1 A Treatise on Insanity : D. Appleton & Co., 1883. Ch. ii. 

16 



242 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

to swim. I held my hand so that the animal's head would 
come in contact with it, and thus further progress be prevented. 
Continued efforts to swim were made for a few seconds, and 
then ceased. Removing my hand, the animal again swam. 

" I have repeatedly performed similar experiments with 
turtles of various kinds, and lately with water-snakes. In all 
these cases the whole brain was removed from the cranium, 
yet the animals did not wobble about aimlessly in the water, 
but swam straight out into the stream or pond, apparently with 
as complete a purpose to escape as though they still possessed 
the full degree of consciousness of the unmutilated animals. 

" Such experiments show, beyond a doubt, that perception 
and volition are not seated exclusively in the brain, and thus 
that instinct is not indissolubly connected with that organ. 

" It is impossible to make similar investigations in the higher 
animals with such definite results as those obtained with rep- 
tiles, but we may call to mind the fact familiar to all physiolo- 
gists, and to which reference has been made in an earlier part 
of this work, of the behavior of a pigeon the brain of which had 
been removed. Though in such a case most of the actions are 
the result of perception, yet some, as for instance the act of 
flying when it is thrown into the air, are purely instinctive. 
But Nature has performed many experiments for us, and these 
not only on the lower animals, but also on man, which teach us 
conclusively that even in him instinct does not reside in brain. 
They show, too, that certain faculties of the mind are not con- 
fined to that organ; but with that fact we need not at present 
concern ourselves. [The italics are mine.] 

"In certain monsters born without a brain, or with impor- 
tant parts of this organ absent, we have interesting examples of 
the persistence of instinct. Syme describes one of these beings 
which lived for six months. Though very feeble, it had the 
faculty of sucking, and the several functions of the body 
appeared to be well performed. Its eyes clearly perceived the 
light, and during the night it cried if the candle was allowed to 
go out. After death the cranium was opened, and there was 
found to be an entire absence of the cerebrum, the place of 
which was occupied by a quantity of serous fluid contained in 
the arachnoid. The cerebellum and pons Varolii were present. 

" Ollivier d'Angers describes a monster of the female sex 
which lived twenty hours. It cried, and could suck and 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 243 

swallow. There was no brain, but the spinal cord and medulla 
oblongata were well developed. 

" Saviard relates the particulars of a case in which there were 
no cerebrum, cerebellum, or any other intra-cranial ganglion. 
The spinal cord began as a little red tumor on a level with the 
foramen magnum. Yet this being opened and shut its eyes, 
cried, sucked, and even ate broth. It lived four days. Some 
of these movements were reflex, but others were clearly instinc- 
tive, and adapted to the preservation of life. 

" Dubois, on the authority of Professor Lallemand, of Mont- 
pellier, cites the case of a fetus, born at full term, in which the 
cerebrum and cerebellum were entirely absent. There were no 
ganglionic bodies within the cranium, but the medulla oblongata 
and the pons Varolii. This fetus lived three days; during all 
this time it uttered cries, exercised suction movements when 
anything was put into its mouth, and moved the limbs. It was 
nourished with milk and sweetened water, for no nurse would 
give it her breast. Dubois cites another case, on the authority 
of Spessa of Treviso, of a child born without cerebrum, cere- 
bellum, or medulla oblongata, and which lived eleven hours. 
It cried, breathed, and moved its limbs, but it did not suck. It 
is difficult to say of this case to what extent its movements were 
instinctive, and to what extent reflex. 

" But all these instances, as well as the experiments referred 
to as having been performed on lower animals, show that 
instinct does not reside in the brain. 

" 2. It is seated exclusively in the medulla oblongata, or in 
the spinal cord, or in both these organs. The observations 
made and experiments cited under the immediately preceding 
head, apparently lead to the conclusion that the medulla 
oblongata, or spinal cord, or both the organs, may be the seat 
of instinct ; and further inquiry shows that this view is as correct 
as that which associates the brain with the mind." 

Dr. Hammond then goes on at length to cite many 
intensely interesting experiments of his own, demonstrating 
the marvellous strength and persistency of instinctive acts 
and emotions after all the intra-cranial ganglia were com- 
pletely removed. He closes the chapter as follows : — 

"In microcephali and other human idiots the instincts are 
sometimes exceedingly strong, and remain so through life. I 



244 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

have already referred to the instance of one of these creatures, 
an adult woman, holding a rag-baby in her arms as though it 
were a child, and in whom the maternal instinct must have 
been strong, and entirely uncontrolled by the intellect. Some 
idiots also evince a great instinctive talent for music, and for 
arithmetical calculations, which, although capable of develop- 
ment, as are other instincts, are nevertheless innate. 

" From these facts, and many others which might be adduced 
in a work specially directed to the consideration of the many 
interesting points involved, I think it may be concluded that 
instinct has at least its chief, if not its only, seat in the medulla 
oblongata and spinal cord. It is possible that the cerebrum, 
the cerebellum, and the pons Varolii have some influence in 
strengthening the faculty; but this is not essential, and its 
exercise is not a mental operation." 

It will now be seen that the hypothesis of a dual mind 
is sustained not alone by the phenomena evoked by ex- 
perimental hypnotism, but by the physical structure of man 
himself, as well as of the whole animal creation. It will 
also be observed that whether we assume two distinct 
minds, or one mind with two distinct sets of faculties, the 
logical results are the same. Moreover, if there is but one 
mind, it is dual nevertheless. It is dual in its organism ; it 
is dual in its functions ; it is dual in its faculties ; and all 
the logical conclusions derivable from the hypothesis of 
two minds are also derivable from the hypotheses of one 
mind with a dual organism. There is, indeed, one argu- 
ment for continued existence in the single-mind theory 
which applies with somewhat diminished force to the theory 
of duality ; for it may be plausibly argued that, if the mind 
can survive the destruction of one of its organs, there is no 
good reason why it may not survive the demolition of the 
other, together with the whole physical structure of which 
those organs are a necessary constituent element. But this 
leads directly into the forbidden field of speculation with- 
out facts. If a future life is to be demonstrated at all, it 
will not be by reference to physical structure, but by refer- 




OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 245 

ence to psychic facts, — the observable phenomena of the 
soul. When we have learned the fact that there is a physi- 
cal structure adapted to a dual mental organization, we 
have learned about the only physical fact, that can possibly 
be verified, that throws any light upon the subject of a 
future life or of the relations which the two sets of faculties 
sustain towards each other. It would be pleasant pastime 
to speculate upon the possible functions of the medulla 
oblongata or the cerebellum \ but we can have no means 
of verifying such speculations. The very name and struc- 
ture, however, of the pons Varolii suggests its possible 
function as a bridge connecting the domains of the two 
intelligences, enabling them to hold communion and to act 
in synchronism ; but, in the absence of a possibility of veri- 
fying such speculations, we should waste valuable time that 
could be much better employed in solving the problems 
presented by the psychic facts which are within easy range 
of our observation. 

I now wish to invite particular attention to two incidental 
remarks made by Dr. Hammond in the foregoing extracts : 
" They show, too, that certain faculties of the mind are not 
confined to that organ [the brain.] Again he remarks that 
" some idiots evince a great instinctive talent for music and 
for arithmetical calculations, which, although capable of 
development, as are other instincts, are nevertheless innate." 

The importance and far-reaching significance of the 
remark, and the fact embraced in it, cannot be overesti- 
mated. It is a clear and distinct recognition, by one of the 
ablest living scientists, of the fact that the higher functions 
of intellect may be, and are by man, performed instinc- 
tively, — that is to say, by that mind which operates when the 
objective senses are inhibited, as in sleep or somnambulism ; 
that mind which is often active and potent when there is a 
total absence of power in the objective mind, as in idiocy; 
that mind which performs its functions with undiminished 



246 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

power after the organ of the objective mind has been 
totally eliminated from the cranial cavity. 

The intelligent reader will at once recognize the fact that 
the musical and mathematical talents possessed by some 
idiots are illustrations of that class of phenomena which I 
have elsewhere designated as " the power of intuitive per- 
ception of the laws of Nature ; " for it is obvious that the 
musical power of an idiot must be the result of an intuitive 
or instinctive perception of the laws of harmony of sounds. 
The idiot's objective mind being extinct, he obviously has 
no facilities for learning those laws by means of objective 
education. The same remark applies to the power of an 
idiot to solve mathematical problems. 

Of course, these examples afford only brief and fleeting 
glimpses into the domain of subjective mental activity and 
power ; but they are all-sufficient to enable us definitely to 
locate the source and classify the phenomena. 

Moreover, it gives us the logical right to infer that facul- 
ties which exhibit such prodigious power under abnormal 
conditions, faculties which are demonstrably not of the 
brain, have a normal function to perform somewhere ; and 
as they have no normal function in this life, it must be in a 
life to come. The fact that their greatest observable 
power is manifested when the functions of the brain are 
inhibited, gives us the logical right to infer that the physi- 
cal frame limits its power ; and that when it is freed from 
material limitations, emancipated from the trammels of the 
flesh, its power of intuitional perception of all Truth will 
be perfected. Not that its possessor will instantaneously 
become omniscient. That is a supposition which none 
but a Hindu philosopher, filled to saturation with that 
monstrous egotism which results from self-hypnotization, is 
capable of seriously advancing. The most that can be 
rationally postulated is that the finite, human entity, en- 
dowed with such powers, is invested with the potentiality 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 247 

of rapid intellectual and moral development and indefinite 
progress. 

It will now be conceded that whilst the existence of a 
dual mind in man is presumptively proven by the very 
nature of the phenomena exhibited, it is conclusively 
demonstrated by the facts of physiology and cerebral anat- 
omy. Especially is this true since the facts of cerebral 
anatomy demonstrate the proposition that there can be no 
objective mind in the absence of a brain. In other words, 
as I have before remarked, the objective mind is the func- 
tion of the brain, and ceases when the brain dies or is 
destroyed. The subjective mind, on the other hand, be- 
longs to an entity which is neither dependent for its exis- 
tence, nor for the power to perform its functions, upon the 
vitality or even the existence of the brain. 

It may be asked at this point, " If the objective mind 
is the function of the brain and they perish together, why 
may it not be true that the subjective mind is the function 
of the spinal cord and that it perishes with that organ ?" 
To this I reply that I allude to that question at this point 
merely for the purpose of showing that I am not unmindful 
of its pertinency ; and I promise to make a full and com- 
plete answer to it in the ensuing chapters. The answer to 
that question pertains wholly to the problem of a future 
life ; and the reader will bear in mind that in this chapter 
I am merely trying to demonstrate that the human entity 
has a dual mind ; and having done that, I shall reserve the 
right to hold that, inasmuch as one of those minds clearly 
belongs to the body, the other as clearly belongs to the 
soul. It will then be in order to appeal to the facts — the 
observable phenomena — of the soul to demonstrate its 
continued existence after the death of the body ; and that 
of itself will be found to be a clear and conclusive answer 
to the possible supposition that the subjective mind is 
merely the function of the spinal cord, or of the medulla 



248 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

oblongata, or of the pons Varolii, or of the cerebellum, or of 
any other organ of the body. That they, or some of them, 
together with the nervous system, are the organs of the 
subjective entity, by and through which it exercises its 
control over the functions, sensations, and conditions of 
the body during its sojourn in it, is quite another proposi- 
tion, and it may be admitted to be true without argument. 
It has, however, nothing to do with the question under 
immediate consideration. 

Now let us summarize the foregoing demonstrable and 
demonstrated facts, so that we may have a clearer view of 
the effect of the whole. To put them in orderly form, we 
have the following clearly established propositions : — 

1. The objective mind is the function of the physical 
brain ; it is wholly dependent upon the condition of that 
organ, and it ceases to exist when the brain loses its 
vitality. 

2. Instinctive acts are performed by animals after the 
brain has been wholly excised from the cranial cavity, and 
by human beings born without a brain or any other intra- 
cranial ganglion. 

3. Intellectual feats of a high order, such as playing 
musical instruments, making mathematical calculations, and 
many others, belong to the realm of instinct, and are often 
performed by idiots, — that is, by those destitute of objec- 
tive intellect. 

It must be remembered that these propositions are based 
upon the facts which have been observed, tested, and re- 
corded by some of the most eminent scientists, living or 
dead. They are demonstrative of the dual-mind hypoth- 
esis ; for they show that when one mind is wholly extin- 
guished, either by natural causes as in idiocy, or by a 
surgical operation such as those described by Dr. Ham- 
mond, there is still a mind existent and capable of mani- 
festing itself. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 249 

It is thought, therefore, that it may now be fairly claimed 
that the two-mind theory has been demonstrated to be true : 
1. logically, because (a) all the facts can be accounted 
for upon that hypothesis, (b) because there is no other 
hypothesis that can account for all the facts; 2. because 
the facts of cerebral anatomy, physiology, and experimental 
surgery all conspire to demonstrate its truth. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY EVOLUTION. 

Duality in the Lower Animals. — A Primordial Fact. — A Physical 
Basis for Immortality. — The Ultimate Goal of Psychic Evolu- 
tion. — Evidence of Design in Psychic Development. — Defini- 
tion of " Design." — Nature conceals God. — Man reveals God. — 
The Functions of the Soul. — Design evinced in the Facts of 
Organic Evolution. — The Benevolence of God. — Painless Death. 
— The Universal Anaesthetic. — God is ever kind to the Victim 
of the Inevitable. — Man Re-enthroned. 



TJAVING now definitely ascertained that the facts of 
* * cerebral anatomy not only sustain the dual hypothesis, 
but locate the organ by and through which the subjective 
mind can manifest itself, it remains to consider briefly the 
bearing of the facts of Evolution upon the subject-matter. 
For, if it is true that man has a soul, and that his soul is 
immortal, all the pertinent phenomena of Nature will con- 
spire to verify those facts. It will also be in order briefly 
to consider the facts of evolution, as manifested in the 
creation of the dual mental organism, in their bearings on 
the question of the character and attributes of the Deity. 
Evolutionists tell us that the tendency of organic Nature 
from the beginning has been toward the creation of Man. 
All the facts of physical Nature conspire to demonstrate the 
truth of that proposition ; for, on every line of the evolution 
of the lower animals upward, the trend of each successive 
change in physical structure has been toward that final goal. 
But evolutionists have failed to observe another cognate fact 
of even more profound significance ; namely, that, in the 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 25 1 

very beginning of psychic evolution the foundation was laid 
for the development of an im?nortal soul. This foundation 
was laid when the first organic being, having a dual mental 
organism, was evolved from protoplasm. And on every 
line of evolution from the lower animals upward, this dual 
mental organism is a salient, nay, the dominant, mental and 
physical characteristic. As I have remarked in a previous 
chapter, without the dual mind there would be no mental 
organism remaining after the dissolution of the body and 
brain, and the consequent extinction of the objective mind. 
In other words, without the dual mind there would be no 
basis upon which to build a human soul. With it, existent 
from the beginning in the lower animals, the process of 
evolution of the subjective mind from the status of mere 
animal instinct up to that of an intelligent, self-existent 
entity, was as natural, as inevitable, as was the evolution 
of the physical organism through the gradations of animal 
life up to the perfect physical man. As the soul is con- 
nascent with the body, and as the objective and subjective 
minds are synchronous in action, so has psychic evolution 
progressed in perfect unison with organic evolution. As 
the ultimate goal of organic evolution is the creation of 
man, so is the ultimate goal of psychic evolution the 
creation of the immortal soul. 

On no other rational hypothesis can the wisdom of the 
Creator be made manifest to finite comprehension. But 
on this hypothesis, not only is the existence of the God of 
Jesus made apparent, but his wisdom is demonstrated. It 
has often been said that there is no evidence of design in 
the phenomena of physical Nature ; and it must be admitted 
that in the ordinary phenomena of the physical universe 
nothing is manifest but the operation of a blind force, 
which appears to be inherent in matter, operating under the 
impulse of an iron necessity and apparently in utter dis- 
regard of human life or of mercy or of justice. On the 



252 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

other hand, it may be said that this vast universe itself, 
with its inherent laws, by and through which such grand 
and beautiful results are brought about, is an evidence 
of design. 

" Who," says Beecher, 1 " designed this mighty machine, 
created matter, gave to it its laws, impressed upon it that ten- 
dency which has brought forth the almost infinite results on the 
globe, and wrought them into a perfect system? Design by 
wholesale is greater than design by retail." 

All of which sounds plausible ; but it is simply begging the 
question. If there were no further evidence than that, 
science would be justified in rejecting the design argument 
altogether, which it has done ever since the doctrines of 
Darwin displaced those of Paley. 

It seems to me that certain of the specific facts of evolu- 
tion itself furnish the most indubitable evidence of design 
that can be imagined. Paley's watch did not furnish a 
more striking evidence of design than is afforded by the 
dealings of God with man. 

The first question, however, is, what is the proper defini- 
tion of the word " design," as it is employed as an argu- 
ment for the existence of God and his intelligent authorship 
of the universe ? This becomes a very important question 
when we remember how much of man's valuable time is 
annually wasted in disputatious argument between persons 
whose only real differences arise from a wrong interpreta- 
tion of terms. 

Design, in the sense which reaches the merits of the 
question at issue, is a definite purpose conceived by an intel- 
ligent being with a view to the production of a specific useful 
result. 

This definition applies with equal force to the works of 
Nature and the works of man. In Paley's watch there was 

1 Evolution and Religion. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 253 

evidence of intelligent design ; for a specific useful result 
was produced, — namely, the creation of an instrument for 
the measurement of time. But a lunatic might produce 
the most complicated machine imaginable, and if it had no 
specific purpose to subserve, if it was incapable of being 
set in motion or of performing any function, there would be 
no evidence of intelligent design. On the other hand, if, 
in the works of Nature, there can be found evidence of an 
intelligent purpose tending at all times toward the produc- 
tion of a specific useful result, design becomes as self-evident 
in Nature as in art. It is, therefore, to a certain extent, a 
question of evidence as to whether any particular structure 
can be said to exhibit design ; and, within certain limits, 
what is conclusive to one mind might not convince another. 
Thus, the theologian finds evidence, conclusive to him, in 
every tree, leaf, bud, or flower, as well as in the grand 
structure of the physical universe, of the existence of a God 
of intelligence and power, and he also sees conclusive evi- 
dence of a commensurate design. To this, however, the 
materialist is ever ready with his reply that all this is the 
result, not of design, but of the operation of physical laws 
which are inherent in matter itself; that these blind forces 
of Nature may go on throughout all coming time, building 
new worlds and disintegrating the old, in one eternal round, 
without evincing either intelligence or design, or aught but 
an iron necessity resultant from immutable laws inherent in 
the Cosmos. From a purely scientific standpoint, consider- 
ing alone the cosmogony of the universe as exhibited in the 
operation of the great physical forces, the materialist is 
right. It is here that the words of Jacobi strike one with 
the force of a revelation : " Nature conceals God ; man 
alone reveals him." And it may be set down as an axiom 
in spiritual philosophy that in the phenomena of mind alone 
is to be found any evidence whatever of the existence of an 
intelligence antecedent to the formation of the planetary 



254 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

system, any evidence of design in the structure of the 
material universe, or any evidence of the immortality of 
the soul. But in the phenomena of mind we find all the 
evidence necessary to demonstrate all three propositions. 
It is only necessary, however, to find evidence of design in 
order to establish the first two, for it is axiomatic that 
design presupposes a designer. What stronger evidence of 
design can be imagined than the fact that all the operations 
of Nature tend toward the accomplishment of one single 
specific object? As I have before remarked, all the facts 
of organic evolution show that the creation of man was the 
goal toward which all Nature has tended from the begin- 
ning. No evolutionist, materialist though he may be, will 
deny that proposition. This, in itself, is evidence — of a 
secondary value, however — of design, because in it we find 
a specific goal. But the materialist will reply that it is in- 
adequate and inconclusive because there is still no evidence 
of intelligent design, since man, in common with all organic 
Nature, is destined to die, and in his seventy years of 
allotted time there is not an adequate motive for bringing 
him into existence. Cui bono ? is his ever-ready question ; 
and it is pertinent and unanswerable from his standpoint. 
If, therefore, there were no further evidence of design than 
that afforded by man's physical existence, it must be con- 
ceded that the argument fails from inherent weakness. But, 
as I have already pointed out, there was a foundation laid 
at the earliest possible period in the history of organic evo- 
lution for the development of an immortal soul. The dual 
mind found in each and every animate creature evolved 
from each individual monad, furnishes this foundation. It 
is found in all animate Nature, from the lowest to the high- 
est, and on every line both of divergence from man and of 
convergence toward him \ so that, upon whatever line of 
development the goal might be reached, the embryo of an 
immortal soul would be present. It is true that there are 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 255 

creatures destitute of anything like a brain, and therefore 
without an objective mind; but there is nothing in all ani- 
mate Nature that is destitute of a subjective mind, rudimen- 
tary though it be. In fact, the subjective mind antedates 
the objective, the latter being the result of organic evolu- 
tion. 

It may be asked why it is necessary to assume that the 
subjective mind in animals is the embryo of an immortal 
soul in man, since both minds have functions to perform in 
physical life. To this the self-evident reply is that Nature 
never produces an unnecessarily complex or complicated 
organism ; and unless we assume that God was incapable of 
endowing the subjective mind with the capacity to develop 
the power of reason sufficiently for the purposes of this life, 
we must assume that it has functions to perform in some 
other life. We know that it is susceptible to a far higher 
intellectual development than is the objective mind. The 
facts, therefore, that the latter was created with functions 
pertaining exclusively to this life, and that the former was 
created with faculties that perform no function in this life, 
constitute demonstrative evidence that the subjective mind 
was created, ab initio, with special reference to a future life. 
Design, therefore, is as self-evident in the order and pro- 
cess of the evolution of the lower animals up to man as it 
is in the structure of a watch. 

It may be asked why God does not exhibit some tan- 
gible, observable, moral attribute toward his creatures, — 
some benevolent aspect that can bear an interpretation other 
than that involved in a blind adherence to primordial law. 
Why is pain and agony, and death and destruction, through 
the law of the survival of the fittest, necessary for the 
development of man? The obvious answer is, that it is 
only through the death of the unfit that room can be made 
for the survival of the fit. In a word, it is only through 
death and destruction that evolution is possible. Without 



256 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

death as a universal factor in the physical world, progress 
would be impossible. And this applies to man as forcibly 
as it does to the lower animals. If at any moment death 
should be abolished as to mankind, progress would come 
to a practical standstill, and the earth would soon be over- 
populated. This is one of the facts demonstrative that 
physical life is not the final goal of man or of his evolution ; 
and since it is demonstrable that there can be no higher 
species developed than man, if he has any future, it must be 
in another form of existence. To recur to the first ques- 
tion, Why does not God exhibit some tangible moral 
attribute toward his creatures ? — it is answered that he 
does exhibit a positive, tangible quality of pure benevolence 
towards all animate Nature in a phenomenon that is of such 
common experience that the world appears to have over- 
looked it entirely. That phenomenon consists in the 
absolute immunity from physical or mental suffering in the 
hour of inevitable death. 1 This immunity is universal in all 
animate Nature. Moreover, there is every evidence to show 
that death is a pleasurable process to all who experience it, 
from the lowest to the highest organism in Nature. More- 
over, there is indubitable evidence demonstrative that God 
is ever kind to the victim of the inevitable. This is true 
whether the inevitable event assumes the form of death or 
of a surgical operation ; 2 for in the subjective state which 
spontaneously ensues upon the approach of either event, 
there is provided a universal anaesthetic, which deprives 
death of its sting and its terrors ; and if the surgeon knows 
the laws pertaining to the subject, it eases the patient of all 
pain and suffering. 

Could further or more tangible evidence be required to 

1 For a full discussion of this subject, see " The Law of Psychic 
Phenomena." 

2 See u Hypnotism, a Universal Anaesthetic in Surgery," N. Y. 
Medical Journal for Dec. 22, 1894. 



« 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2$7 

demonstrate the quality of mercy and benevolence in God 
towards his creatures? 

It must be remembered that this immunity from suffering 
during the process of dissolution cannot be tortured into 
the domain of attributes resulting from the laws of heredity, 
or of natural selection, or of the survival of the fittest. It 
is obvious that when this phenomenon is exhibited, the 
subject' is far beyond the reach of those laws. Nor is there 
any law or fact in the domain of evolution that can be 
invoked to explain it. It is a broad, ultimate fact, standing 
apart, tangible, monumental, demonstrative of the intelli- 
gence, the love, the mercy, the benevolence of the Great 
First Cause. 

Is there no evidence of intelligent design in the phenom- 
ena of Nature ? Let the facts — the observable, tangible, 
demonstrable facts — answer the question. 

Thus is man rehabilitated and re-enthroned as the grand 
central figure of creation, the ultimate object of creative 
energy. The Copernican system of astronomy shocked the 
Christian world, and moved it to deeds of violence by 
removing the habitation of man from the centre of the 
universe, and sending it whirling through space, a unit in the 
Titanic procession around the central sun, — the source of 
light and warmth and energy. Another shock was sent 
through Christendom when it was first shown that the facts 
of evolution proved that God created man, not by miracle, 
but through the operations of natural law. But Christen- 
dom has survived both shocks, and has lived to recognize 
the fact that science robs not God of his glory nor man of 
his dignity. On the contrary, Copernican astronomy 
removed man from the centre of the physical universe only 
to show him that the central sun, with all its stores of 
physical energy, is but his domestic serva?it, charged with 
the duty of rendering his home habitable and beautiful. 
Evolutionary science removed his origin from the domain 

17 



258 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

of superstition, and revealed him to himself as the central 
figure in the physical universe. Psychic science proclaims 
his divine pedigree, confirms his kinship to Christ, and 
verifies his title-deeds to a " home not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE DISTINCTIVE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL. 

Every Faculty of the Mind has its Use or Function. — Faculties of 
the Soul which perform no Normal Function in this Life. — The 
Man and the Brute psychically Differentiated- — Ego-Altruism. — 
The Instinct of Self-Sacrifice. — Conditions precedent to the At- 
tainment of Immortality. 

TTAVING now logically and scientifically demonstrated 
* * the existence in man of a dual mind, it remains to 
inquire what are the legitimate logical and scientific con- 
clusions to be derived from that fact. In doing so, the first 
matter to be considered is the question as to what can be 
taken for granted. As I have pointed out in the earlier 
chapters of this book, there is, in every process of reason- 
ing, one factor in the series of steps or propositions leading 
to a logical conclusion, that is always taken for granted. 
Thus, in reasoning by induction, we collate our facts and 
from them we reason up to general principles. That is to 
say, after the observance of a series of phenomena, when 
we find a constant recurrence of the series in orderly and 
unvarying sequence, we are enabled to say with certainty 
that the same phenomena will continue to recur in the 
same orderly sequence. In other words we have discovered 
the law which governs the subject-matter, — the principle 
which underlies it. But in formulating the law we invaria- 
bly assume, without formally stating it, the most important 
proposition in the series which gives it validity. That prop- 
osition is that Nature is ever constant. It is obvious that 



26o A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

if a law of Nature operated in one way at one time, and in 
the opposite way at another, man would be put to perma- 
nent intellectual confusion. He could never be certain 
that he knew anything. In logical reasoning, therefore, our 
very silence regarding the constancy of Nature evinces, in 
terms more eloquent than words, our calm, unfaltering trust 
in the wisdom and benevolence of the Eternal Lawgiver. 
So universal is this confidence among civilized peoples, that 
the proposition that Nature's laws are immutable is not 
only never questioned, but is, by common consent, regarded 
as one of those self-evident propositions which to argue is 
a work of supererogation. 

In the domain of psychological research there is also a 
proposition equally important, and unqualifiedly self-evi- 
dent, which is assumed without question by all who apply 
the principles of logical reasoning to the solution of psycho- 
logical problems. That proposition is that There is no 
faculty, emotion, or organism of the hu?nan 7nind that has 
not its function, use, or object. 

In the physical world it has long since passed into a 
proverb that "Nothing was ever made in vain." This 
may be true, and it probably is true ; but it is far from 
being self-evident. For instance, it is difficult to discover 
the use of mosquitoes, or of venomous reptiles, or of those 
insects which sometimes destroy the vegetation of whole 
provinces and bring desolation and famine to the doors of 
the helpless people. Such things not only cause the unre- 
flecting to doubt the wisdom of God, but they forcibly 
remind us all of the essential truth of the saying of the 
pious Jacobi, that " Nature conceals God ; man reveals 
him." No truth is more frequently brought home to the 
scientific student of Nature and of man than this ; for 
the more we study physical Nature the farther God is re- 
moved from us, the more we study man the nearer God 
approaches to us. Thus, the savage finds God in the most 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 26 1 

common phenomena of Nature ; he sees him in the 
lightning's flash, and in the thunder he hears his voice. 
Explain the phenomena to him, and his God is no longer 
enthroned in the storm cloud ; and so it is with all who 
study only the phenomena of physical Nature. The more 
one learns of the proximate causes of things, the farther 
away is removed the ultimate cause ; and if one confines 
his attention to the material universe alone, he is prone to 
the conclusion that if it is ignorance of Nature's laws that 
gives birth to gods, a knowledge of those laws will surely 
destroy them. 

Not so in the study of man, of whom it has been truly 
said that there is nothing else on earth that is truly great, 
and in whom there is nothing truly great but mind. It is, 
therefore, only by the study of the mind of man that we 
shall be able to apprehend the existence of God, to realize 
his presence, to demonstrate his immanence, or to learn 
anything regarding the origin and destiny of the soul. 

We may assume, then, as the starting-point of our argu- 
ment, the axiom before mentioned ; namely, that " There is 
no faculty, emotion, or organism of the human mind that 
has not its use or object." This is a self-evident proposi- 
tion. It is axiomatic, for it is impossible to conceive its 
opposite. It is "so evident at first sight that no process of 
reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer " (Webster). 
When this can be said of a proposition, all legitimate con- 
clusions to be deduced therefrom partake of the character 
of the axiom ; that is, they are as necessarily true as the 
axiom itself. They are then scientifically demonstrated. 

The first fact in the order of consideration to which this 
axiom may be applied is that man has a dual mind. This 
is the primary fact which lies at the foundation of the 
science of the soul, for it is in a sense demonstrative of the 
fact that man has a soul ; that is to say, if man has a soul, 
its mental organization must necessarily be supposed to be 



262 A SCIEXTIFIC DEMONSTRATIOX 

identified with one or the other of his two minds. Now, it 
has already been shown that the facts of hypnotism and of 
experimental surgery demonstrate that the objective mind 
is a function of the brain, and necessarily perishes with that 
organ. That fact, therefore, excludes the objective mind 
from consideration as a possible heir to a future life, and 
clears the way for the consideration of the facts relating to 
the subjective mind, which facts must of necessity either 
prove or disprove its claims to immortality. 

The first question to be considered, then, is one of use 
and function ; and the first inquiry is, what purpose is sub- 
served by the two minds ? In other words, if man has not 
an immortal soul, what possible object pertaining to this life 
can be subserved by the two minds that could not as well 
have been attained by one mind, since it is axiomatic that 
Nature never produces an unnecessarily complex or com- 
plicated organism? 

Now, it must be remembered that so far as this life is 
concerned, the subjective mind has, primarily, but three 
functions, namely : i. Self-preservation; 2. Reproduction; 
3. The preservation of the offspring. These may be re- 
duced in terms to one ; namely, the perpetuation of the 
race or species. It has other powers, as we have already 
seen, and as we shall see more particularly later on. Some 
of those powers belong exclusively to the subjective mind, 
whilst others differ only in degree from corresponding 
powers belonging to the objective mind. But the point to 
be considered for the moment is that the only normal 
functions performed by the subjective mind during its so- 
journ in the body, and its connection with it, all pertain to 
the perpetuation of the species. These are, primarily, 
purely animal functions, it is true, and are possessed in 
common with all animate Nature. They are, nevertheless, 
its only normal functions. This is demonstrated by the 
fact that it ca?i never perform any other function or exer- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 263 

cise any other of its manifold powers, except under the most 
intensely abnormal conditions of the body. This proposition 
will be amply demonstrated in a later chapter. For the 
present it must be taken for granted for the sake of the 
argument which follows. 

Is it conceivable that a power which is capable of creating 
man and endowing him with powers that we know him to 
possess, could not have endowed his objective mind with the 
instinctive powers and functions which have been named? 
In other words, what is the use of such a complex and com- 
plicated organism as is involved in the mechanism of a dual 
mind when a unitary mind could just as well have performed 
all the normal functions now performed by both? 

It will thus be seen that the bare fact that man possesses 
a dual mind necessarily leads to the conclusion that one of 
them does not pertain exclusively to his physical well-being. 

Let me not be misunderstood at this point. I do not 
undertake to say that immortality is directly foreshadowed 
by the fact that man has a dual mind, and that his subjective 
mind is endowed with the faculty of animal instinct. But 
what I do say is that the fact that he has a dual mind, 
indirectly but inevitably, leads to that conclusion. It is, 
indeed, the fundamental basis of fact from which we may 
proceed to a demonstration of a future life. It is a logical 
as well as a physical necessity, since the objective mind is 
merely a function of the brain. There must, therefore, be 
another mind, another intellect, another entity in man, or 
there would be nothing upon which to predicate the hypoth- 
esis of immortality. It is, therefore, an argument for a future 
life in that the existence of two minds cannot be accounted 
for on any other rational hypothesis. 

I cannot be unaware that the argument is far from de- 
monstrative so long as none of the attributes and powers of 
the subjective mind have thus far been taken into considera- 
tion except the purely animal instincts which we have been 



264 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

considering, since those functions pertain wholly to the phys- 
ical plane. If all else were left out of consideration, man 
would be on an exact level with the brute creation, so far as 
the question of a future life is concerned. It would be im- 
possible to postulate a rational hypothesis of immortality for 
man that would not apply with equal force to the brute, if 
the soul of neither was endowed with higher attributes than 
the instincts which belong alone to the physical plane. 

It is just here, however, that the difference between man 
and brute becomes manifest ; and it is upon these lines that 
must be settled the vexed question whether the brute, equally 
with man, may not be able to read his title clear to mansions 
in the skies, since the former, in common with the latter, is 
endowed with both objective and subjective faculties. 

The subjective faculties of the brute are limited to those 
primary instincts which pertain wholly to thi perpetuation of 
the species, and belong therefore exclusively to the physical 
plane. On the other hand, the subjective mind of man is 
endowed with intellectual faculties which far transcend those 
of the objective intellect, and some of which perform no nor- 
mal ' f miction on the physical plane. 

Nor must it be forgotten in this connection that the in- 
stinct of self-preservation itself, common as it is to all animate 
Nature, and purely selfish as it is among the brute creation, 
contains within itself the elements of the purest altruism. 
And when it is normally developed in man, it becomes the 
most purely unselfish of all the human instincts, and exhibits 
itself in the noblest acts of self-sacrifice recorded in history, 
the sublimest heroism conceivable by the human imagina- 
tion. It was regnant in the devoted band who held the 
pass at Thermopylae ; in " Hpratius, who held the bridge in 
the brave days of yore ; " in Winkelried, who swept the 
enemy's spears into his own body, that he might break the 
Austrian phalanx \ in the pilot who, with arms shrivelling 
in the flames, guided his burning ship toward the shore, to 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 265 

the end that others might survive ; in the captain of the 
sinking ship who stood at his post until the last passenger 
was safe, and was alone drawn into the vortex ; in him who 
yielded up his life on the cross in testimony of his divine 
mission to " bring life and immortality to light," — in all 
those noble, self-sacrificing souls who suffer and die that 
others may live. These are the higher aspects of the instinct 
of self-preservation \ for that instinct in man pertains not 
alone to the preservation of the individual life, but to that 
of the species to which it belongs. It is just as much a 
matter of instinct to sacrifice one's own life for the preserva- 
tion of the lives of others as it is to shrink from imminent 
peril when one's own safety is alone involved. In a word, 
when the lives of others are at stake, cowardice is a purely 
abnormal manifestation of that instinct. Heroic self-sacrifice, 
when others are in peril, is alone normal. It will thus be 
seen that the principle of " the greatest good to the greatest 
number" is the ultimate form of the evolutionary develop- 
ment of what has been regarded as the most purely selfish 
instinct. In the lower animals it is a purely selfish, individu- 
alized instinct. In man it rises to the dignity of what, for 
the want of a better term, may be designated as ego-altruism, 
— the cegis of all humanity. 

It may be asked, " Why, if every faculty has its use or 
object, is the brute endowed with two minds, if neither of 
its minds is destined to a future life ? In other words, why 
does not the dual-mind hypothesis argue immortality for the 
brute as cogently as it does for the man? " It may as well 
be asked, "Why does not the possession of two eyes prove 
that the brute is destined to become a man? " Or, "Why 
does not the presence, in various species of animals, of the 
rudimentary physical structure of man, argue that each 
individual animal is destined to become a man?" The 
answer to all these questions is the same ; namely, The 
creation of the physical and the psychical man. is the goal 



266 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

toward which Nature has tended from the beginning; but 
it was through the processes of evolution that both body and 
soul were c?'eated. 

Man's physical structure, in rudimentary form, is found 
in the animals from which he was evolved ; but it does not 
follow that the individual animal is to become a man. 
Man's psychical organism is found, in rudimentary form, in 
the brute creation, the same dual mental organism being 
present in all animate Nature : but it does not follow that 
the individual brute is to inherit immortality. The rudi- 
mentary form of man in the animal rendered it possible for 
the processes of evolution to culminate in the creation of 
the perfected physical man. The rudimentary psychical 
organism in the animal rendered it possible for evolution to 
elevate the embryotic soul to the full stature of a living, 
conscious, individualized entity, capable, under certain con- 
ditions, existent in man alone, of sustaining an existence 
independently of the physical organism. 

The primary condition precedent to the attainment of such 
an existence is necessarily that of consciousness. It is 
axiomatic that no individualized existence worthy of the 
name can be sustained by a living organism, physical or 
psychical, in the absence of consciousness. It is also 
obvious that an animal can have no consciousness of the 
possession of a soul. Nor can the soul be conscious of 
itself in the absence of any suggestion or information con- 
veyed to it by objective education. Jesus, who was mas- 
ter of the science of the soul, drew the line, on strictly 
scientific principles, between the man and the brute, when 
he proclaimed the law that belief — faith — was the essential 
prerequisite to the attainment of immortal life. 1 " Faith," 
in the sense in which Jesus employed the term, means much 
more than " belief," although the latter is included in the 

1 For a fuller discussion of this important problem, see " The Law 
of Psvchic Phenomena/' ch. xxv. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 267 

term. Faith, in the psychic sense, and that is the sense in 
which Jesus employed it, is conscious potentiality. It is a 
power ; it is the power of the soul. All psychic phenomena 
demonstrate that proposition. Without it there can be no 
psychic phenomena beyond the exercise of the purely 
animal instincts. It is the creature of suggestion. Sug- 
gestion alone awakens it into existence ; suggestion can 
utterly destroy it. Inasmuch as no suggestion of the possi- 
bility of immortal life can be conveyed to the embryotic 
soul of the brute, the conscious potentiality requisite to the 
sustentation of independent existence does not exist ; and it 
obviously cannot exist in other than an intelligent being. 
And this remark, according to the philosophy of Jesus, 
applies to all the brute creation, whether it is embodied in 
the form of animals or of men. 

It is thought that enough has now been said to make a 
prima facie case, because I have shown : 1. That there is a 
basis in the mental organism of man upon which the hypoth- 
esis of a future life can be postulated, in that (a) there are 
two minds, {b) the subjective mind does not necessarily 
perish with the brain; 2. That no other rational hy- 
pothesis, which will account for all the facts, psychical and 
physical, has yet been formulated. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

FACULTIES BELONGING TO A FUTURE LIFE. 

The Necessity for limiting the Powers of the Subjective Mind in this 
Life. — Man a Free Moral Agent. — The Law of Suggestion a 
Necessity. — Limitations of Power pertain only to this Life. — 
Induction unnecessary in the Future Life. — Intuition takes its 
Place. — Induction Impossible when the Power of Perception ex- 
ists. — The Higher Intuitional Powers L'seless in this Life. — The 
Power of Correct Deduction in Man and Animals. 



\y\7E will now proceed to the consideration of those 
" " peculiar powers, functions, and limitations of the 
subjective mind which seem to be especially adapted to a 
future life. In doing so, the mental faculties will, for con- 
venience, be divided into three classes, namely: i. Those 
which belong exclusively to the subjective mind; 2. Those 
which belong exclusively to the objective mind; and, 3. 
Those powers possessed in common by the two minds, 
differing only in degree. They will be considered as nearly 
as possible in the order named, although it will be 
necessary in some cases to group two or more and consider 
them together. 

Before proceeding, however, I desire to impress upon the 
mind of the reader the fundamental axiom mentioned in the 
chapter preceding : namely, that There is no faculty, emotion, 
or organism of the human mind that has not its function, 
use, or object A moment's reflection will be sufficient to 
extort the assent of every logical mind to this proposition. 
If any one will try to imagine the contrary or opposite 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 269 

proposition to be true, he will find that it is absolutely and 
unqualifiedly unthinkable. I lay particular stress upon this 
proposition for reasons that will more fully appear as we 
proceed. In the mean time it will be obvious to every 
logician that any legitimate conclusion derivable from a 
proposition so far-reaching and so perfectly self-evident, 
must necessarily be invested with a profound significance. 

We have now three fundamental propositions to start with, 
each of which is either self-evident or is demonstrable by 
reference to the facts of experimental psychology, cerebral 
anatomy, or experimental surgery. They are : — 

1. Man has a dual mind. 

2. Each of the two minds has powers, functions, and 
limitations which clearly differentiate it from the other. 

3. Each power, function, and limitation necessarily has 
its use, function or object. 

The first and second of these propositions have been 
clearly demonstrated by the facts of experimental psy- 
chology, cerebral anatomy, and experimental surgery. The 
third is axiomatic. 

I will now add a fourth proposition which will complete 
the chain of logical premises necessary to a complete demon- 
stration of a future life for mankind. It is this : — 

4. There is no power, faculty, function, or limitation of 
the subjective mind, which is peculiar to itself and which 
clearly differentiates it from the objective mind, that has 
any normal use or function in a purely physical existence. 

No one will deny that, if this proposition can be sub- 
stantiated, the conclusion that man is heir to a future life 
is irresistible ; for if every faculty has its use, and the sub- 
jective mind has faculties that are of no use in a physical 
life, it follows that those faculties pertain to a life or existence 
untrammelled by physical limitations. This conclusion is as 
scientifically correct as it would be to predicate the capacity 
to navigate the air, of an animal with wings ; or the capacity 



2/0 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

to fly, swim, and walk, of a fowl with wings and webbed 
feet. 

If anything were needed to add logical weight to this 
argument, it will be found in the fact that the converse of 
the fourth proposition is also true ; namely, — 

There is no power, faculty, function, or limitation of the 
objective mind, which is peculiar to itself and which clearly 
differentiates it from the subjective mind, that could have any 
possible use or function in any but a physical life. 

Standing by itself, this proposition is purely negative so 
far as the question of a future life is concerned. But. con- 
sidered with reference to the fourth proposition, it affords a 
contrast which is as striking as it is important, in that it 
demonstrates that the two minds are adapted to two differ- 
ent planes of existence, and that neither is adapted to the 
other. 

We will first consider the bearing of the law of sugges- 
tion, and its corollary, the limitation of the reasoning 
powers of the subjective mind, together with its power of 
intuitive perception or cognition of the laws of Nature. As 
we have already seen, these powers and limitations are pecu- 
liar to the subjective mind. It has also been pointed out 
that the limitation of power incident to its control by sug- 
gestion is a necessity, for the obvious reason that one mind 
must necessarily be normally under the absolute control of 
the other if harmonious relations are to be maintained. 

There are an infinite number of reasons why the objec- 
tive mind should be invested with that responsibility, and 
I certainly know of none against it. The first, and perhaps 
the most important, is that in no other way could the objec- 
tive man — the human entity — be made and held respon- 
sible for the moral status of his own soul. In other words, 
it is by this means, and by this alone, that man is consti- 
tuted a free moral agent. The objective man, being en- 
dowed with the powder to reason by all methods, his mind 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2? I 

being pure intellect and destitute of emotion, is manifestly 
best fitted for the exercise of that judicial power — that 
absolute sovereignty — which must of necessity reside in 
one or the other of the two minds. On the other hand the 
subjective entity, being the seat of the emotions, and charged 
in this life with but the three normal functions, which con- 
stitute the master passions of all animate Nature, must neces- 
sarily be under the dominion of some moral force capable 
of restraining and regulating those passions and directing 
their current into legitimate channels. Otherwise man 
could never have been elevated above the level of the 
brute ; certainly not above the status of the most primitive 
savagery. Civilization would be impossible, morality would 
be nameless, and religion non-existent. It will thus be seen 
that for the purposes of this life the law of suggestion is a 
necessity. If this life were all, and the three normal func- 
tions of the subjective mind were all that pertained to it, it 
might well be asked, why the necessity of a dual mind ? And 
it would be difficult to find a rational answer. But when 
we postulate a future life for man, we find ample reason, 
not only for two minds, but for the limitation of power in 
the subjective mind. For it must now be observed and 
borne in mind that those limitations of power pertain ex- 
clusively to this life. But why the necessity for limiting 
the reasoning faculties of the subjective mind, thus depriv- 
ing it of that power which invests the objective mind with 
its supremacy and dominion over the forces of Nature ? There 
are two answers to this question. The first is that it is a cor- 
ollary of the law of suggestion ; for that law could not exist 
if the subjective mind possessed the power to reason inde- 
pendently, and it is therefore an absolute necessity for the 
purposes of this life. The second answer is twofold, — 

Firstly, there is obviously no necessity for the subjective 
mind to possess such a faculty, even if it were possible for 
the two minds to exist together in harmony, since the objec- 



2J 2 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

tive mind possesses it and is the controlling and responsible 
power in this life. Secondly, the power of the subjective mind 
to reason inductively is neither necessary nor possible, for the 
reason that it is endowed with the faculty of intuitive percep- 
tion or cognition of Nature' 's laws, independently of objective 
education. 

A few words will make this proposition plain to the most 
superficial reader. What is induction? Induction is a 
method of inquiry. It is the slow and laborious process of 
investigation by which the dull and plodding objective mind 
of man is enabled to learn something of the laws which 
govern the universe. It is the one faculty which enables 
him to be certain that he knows something. It is the one 
weapon which enables him to conquer the forces of Nature. 
It lends accuracy to learning, permanency to progress, and 
stability to civilization. But it is of the earth, earthy \ for it 
belongs alone to the objective mind. It is a function of the 
brain, a product of organic evolution, a faculty developed in 
response to the necessities of man's physical environment. I 
repeat, — it is of the earth, earthy. It can have no place, or 
power, or function in the future life, for the simple reason that 
it is not a necessity of that plane of existence. It is not a ne- 
cessity, for the reason that the soul possesses that power of in- 
tuitive perception or cognition of Nature's laws which renders 
any process of laborious inquiry in the nature of induction 
superfluous, — impossible. And this is why I have said that 
inductive reasoning is neither necessary nor possible to the 
subjective mind. It perceives ; and its power of percep- 
tion as far transcends the power of induction as Omniscience 
transcends the powers of sense. It is, in fact, the power of 
Omniscience, and its possession by the human soul demon- 
strates its kinship to God ; for God himself cannot reason 
inductively. Induction, as I have before remarked, is a 
finite process of inquiry into something which finite man 
does not already know. To suppose an omniscient God to 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 273 

be capable of induction would be a contradiction in terms 
as gross as it would be to say that a triangle is rectangular. 

Again, it must be remembered that this power of intui- 
tive perception of Nature's laws has no legitimate place in 
earthly life. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that 
only occasional glimpses of phenomena can be obtained 
which render it certain that the power exists as a part of 
the mental equipment of the subjective mind ; and these 
glimpses can only be obtained under the most intensely 
abnormal conditions of the body or of the objective mind, 
or of both. This is a fact within the knowledge of the most 
superficial observer, but it will be more fully dealt with in a 
subsequent chapter. 

Furthermore, its lack of legitimate function in this life is 
shown by the fact that, outside of the domains where 
demonstration by other means is possible, we can never be 
certain of the verity of subjective perception, owing to the 
ever-present power of suggestion. That is to say, when the 
power of perception is exercised, say, in the field of mathe- 
matics, we have the means of testing the accuracy of the 
alleged perceptions ; but when we have not the means of 
verifying the alleged facts, we can never avail ourselves of 
the alleged information, for the reason that we cannot know 
to what extent the law of suggestion has operated as a factor 
in the case. 

It comes to this, therefore, that we can never be certain 
of the accuracy of alleged intuitions, unless they are other- 
wise verified ; and they cannot be verified except by the 
exercise of the powers of objective reason. 

It follows that, so far as the mental operations of this 
life are concerned, the subjective powers of intuitive per- 
ception are superfluous and useless. If they were not so, 
that is, if they were normal, and could be depended upon 
as a source of information, the objective powers of reason 
would be superfluous, and therefore useless. 



274 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Before we close this branch of the subject, one word must 
be said concerning the transcendent' power, possessed by 
the subjective mind, of correct deduction from given or 
suggested premises. Although this power differs only in 
degree from the corresponding faculty possessed by the 
objective mind, it must, for obvious reasons, be considered 
in connection with the other reasoning faculties. This 
faculty is an essential concomitant to the law of suggestion. 
The power of suggestion would be of little avail if the sub- 
jective mind could not correctly deduce all legitimate con- 
clusions from the premises embraced in a suggestion. It is 
true that wrong or absurd suggestions will lead to wrong 
and absurd conclusions ; but the conclusions will be logi- 
cally correct whether the premises are true or false. This 
is inevitable from the very perfection of the faculty of de- 
duction; but it is compensated for in many ways, for it 
becomes a factor of the utmost value when a correct sug- 
gestion is made. For instance, in the moral training 
of the subjective mind of a child, if it is punished for 
stealing from or lying about John Doe, the lesson that it 
learns is, not simply that it is wrong to injure John Doe, 
but that it is wrong to tell a falsehood or to appropriate the 
property of others. It is, however, too obvious to need 
illustration, that no suggestion could be intelligently carried 
into effect in the absence of this faculty of logical deduction. 

The same faculty is possessed by animals ; and, together 
with the power of suggestion over the animal kingdom, it 
constitutes the prime factor in the combination of causes 
which enables man to assert and maintain his dominion 
over the beasts of the field. A single illustration will suffice. 
The first step which an intelligent trainer takes in break- 
ing a horse is to throw the animal, and hold it down until 
it ceases to struggle. When this is accomplished, half the 
battle is won; and although other means to the same end 
may be adopted, they all tend to demonstrate to the horse 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 275 

that his trainer has absolute power and dominion over him. 
The rest is easy when gentle kindness and persuasion are 
employed to teach the animal his duties. Now, the first 
and most essential step named constitutes a suggestion to 
the animal that his trainer possesses complete mastery over 
him, and that it is useless to struggle against superior physical 
force. This suggestion, however, per se, applies only to the 
individual trainer ; and but for the faculty of deduction, no 
one but the trainer could drive the animal. But the horse, 
from the suggestion that his trainer has power over him, 
deduces the conclusion that other men possess the same 
power. Otherwise every new driver would be obliged to 
rebreak the horse. 

It will thus be seen that the subjective faculty of correct 
logical deduction from suggested premises possesses a far- 
reaching significance, and importance in matters of every- 
day experience in this life. Concerning the part it may 
play in the mental operations incident to the life to come, 
it would, perhaps, be useless to speculate ; although its con- 
comitance with the faculty of intuitional perception is too 
obvious to require comment. 

Having briefly discussed the reasoning powers of the two 
minds, we may now pause to take our bearings and find 
where we stand at this stage of the argument. 

We have located and found a use for every reasoning or 
intuitional faculty of the two minds save one. We have 
found : — 

1 . That the faculty of induction belongs exclusively to 
the objective mind, and hence pertains exclusively to 
earthly life. 

2. That the faculty of intuitional perception belongs 
exclusively to the subjective mind. 

3. That this faculty of intuitional perception performs 
no normal function in earthly life, as is clearly shown by 
reference to the facts, — 



276 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

a. That we catch only occasional glimpses of that faculty 
in the subjective mind, and know with certainty of its exist- 
ence only by and through abnormal means and the most 
intensely abnormal conditions of the objective mind and of 
the body. 

b. That, owing to the law of suggestion, no conclusions 
arrived at by alleged intuitional processes can be relied 
upon in this life unless they are verified by objective 
methods of investigation. 

c. That the labor incident to verification is at least 
equivalent to that of making an original investigation of the 
subject-matter. 

d. It is, therefore, not only abnormal, but superfluous 
and worse than useless on the physical plane. 

The conclusion seems irresistible that at least the purely 
intellectual part of the subjective entity belongs exclusively 
to a future existence. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE DYNAMIC FORCES OF THE MIND. 

The Buddhistic Nirvana. — A purely Intellectual Existence without 
Memory, Emotion, or Personality. — The Basis of their Philoso- 
phy. — Incomplete Observation of Psychic Powers. — Ignorance 
of the Law of Suggestion. — Requisites for the Retention of Per- 
sonality. — Memory. — Consciousness. — Will. — Will is Desire. 
— The Strongest Desire of the Soul. — Egoism and Egotism of 
the Soul. — Egoism the Normal Desire for Retention of Person- 
ality. — Egotism Abnormal Self-Conceit. — The Dynamics of the 
Soul. — The Kinetic Force of the Soul. 

TT has now been shown that the subjective entity possesses 
1 all the mental equipment necessary for an enjoyable 
existence as a purely intellectual being, without being the 
possessor of any of the faculties which have been desig- 
nated as belonging exclusively to the objective mind. 

It may be remarked, in passing, that the possession of 
the intuitional faculty alone would, to the disembodied soul, 
constitute practically the Buddhistic Nirvana, and would 
doubtless nearly approach the ideal of the average Yogi, 
who begins his search for divine illumination by severing 
every domestic tie, repudiating every social obligation, 
suppressing every human emotion, and strangling every 
human affection ; and pursues his quest for truth by sitting 
on his haunches, thinking about himself, and trying to stare 
his umbilicus out of countenance. He seeks for " eman- 
cipation " from every human passion, and contemplates 
with calm indifference the prospect of the annihilation of 
his individuality : he longs for absorption into the Deity, 



2?8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

for rest in Nirvana. It is, perhaps, not strange that the 
average Hindu should regard absolute rest as the acme of 
human felicity. His climate, his social and political envi- 
ronment, his diet, his habits of body and of thought, the 
fauna of his native land, and the character of his Western 
proselytes, — all have a tendency to aggravate that feeling 
of weariness which seems to involve both body and soul, 
and to be congenite with the whole Oriental race. 

The Hindu philosophy of a future life is based largely, 
if not wholly, upon an observation of that one faculty of 
the subjective mind to which I have just alluded ; that is 
to say, the salient feature of the subjective phenomena 
of the Yogis, et id genus omne, consists in entering that 
hypnotic state known as " ecstasy." In that state they 
become " illuminated," as they term it; and they imagine 
that they come into direct communion with the Deity, and 
that they are put in possession of all knowledge, and a large 
share of the deific power. In short, they identify them- 
selves with the Deity, in imagination ; and they come to the 
conclusion that they have penetrated the secret of a future 
life, and are enabled to define its conditions. Now, al- 
though there are as many different sects in India as there 
are in Christendom, and although their views are as widely 
diverse regarding non-essentials, yet they all agree upon one 
point ; namely, that the ultimate destiny of man is to be 
absorbed into Deity, and identified with him. In the 
Buddhistic philosophy this means utter annihilation of 
individuality. Of course the different sects hold diverse 
views even on this point ; but this seems to be the general 
trend of both the Brahmanist and the Buddhist doctrine 
of a future life. That question, however, is unimportant for 
our present purpose. The significant point is that they 
have arrived at the general conclusion, from an observation 
of the phenomenon of ecstasy, that soul is ultimately 
absorbed into the Deity, and thereby comes into possession 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 279 

of all knowledge, power, and dominion. Now, that con- 
dition is identical with the one in which the faculty of 
intuitive perception or cognition of truth is oftenest 
observed. It is seen in other states or conditions, to be 
sure, from that of apparent normality up to ecstasy ; but 
the last condition is the one in which it is most frequently 
observed, and it is the one in which it can be experimen- 
tally reproduced. It is doubtless true that the Indian 
adepts have occasionally found that some of their intui- 
tional perceptions could be verified, as by some mathemat- 
ical process ; or the faculty of telepathy may have been 
developed, and the information obtained in that way may 
have occasionally been found to be veridical. A few 
circumstances of that character would inevitably lead that 
class of minds to the conclusion that all impression felt 
while in the ecstatic condition were revelations of divine 
truth. I say that that conclusion would be inevitable, just 
as the phenomena of spiritism has inevitably led the same 
class of minds to the conclusion that they are produced by 
spirits of the dead. But this must be said in extenuation 
of both conclusions ; namely, that until the law of sugges- 
tion was discovered, there was no other rational hypothesis 
which could explain all the phenomena. In the mean time 
there were but two paths open to the scientific mind. One 
was to accept the phenomena for what they purported to 
be • the other to deny their existence. To explain them 
on scientific principles, in the absence of any knowledge of 
the law of suggestion or of the power of telepathy, was 
impossible. These discoveries, however, have changed the 
whole aspect of the questions involved, and relegate the 
visions of ecstatics to the category of subjective hallucina- 
tions induced by suggestion. 

If anything were needed to demonstrate the proposition 
that ecstatic visions do not reveal scientific truth, it would 
be found in the fact that there are many different sects in 



28o A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

the Orient, each of whose doctrines is based upon the 
phenomena of ecstasy, and yet they are so divergent that 
they are scarcely recognizable as springing from the same 
root. Surely, if ecstatic visions reveal divine truth, there 
can be no room for difference of opinion among those 
favored mortals to whom it is thus revealed. 

The truth is, that the whole of the vast fabric of Oriental 
philosophy is based upon psychic phenomena produced in 
utter ignorance of the law of suggestion ; and as that law 
is fundamental, universal, and never-failing in its operations 
so long as the soul inhabits the body, it follows that Hindu 
philosophy is destitute of any scientific value whatever. 

The ever-ready answer to this is the declaration that in 
the ecstatic condition the subject is lifted into a higher 
spiritual realm, where he is exempted from the laws which 
govern ordinary mortals, where the law of suggestion no 
longer prevails, and where all truth stands revealed to 
the " disenthralled cosmic consciousness," whatever that 
may mean. In other words, they simply beg the question. 

It is noticeable that the Oriental ecstatics have many and 
a constantly growing number of feeble imitators in the 
Western world, who are assiduously practising self-hypnoti- 
zation with a view of coming into " conscious communion 
with the Deity," etc., etc. They, too, are instructed that 
in the " higher spiritual realm " they are exempted from that 
inconvenient law of suggestion which prevails so extensively 
among less favored mortals "on the lower psychic plane," 
and that consequently their visions are veridical — their 
imaginings are the essence of divine truth imbibed directly 
from its divine source. It is useless to remind that class of 
minds that all the facts of psychic science conspire to 
demonstrate that the law of suggestion is the universal, 
ever-present, all-potent factor which governs the manifesta- 
tions of the soul so long as it retains its connection with the 
body. It is useless to challenge them to produce one fact 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 28 1 

that militates against that proposition; for scientifically 
verified facts are not to their liking when such facts do not 
harmonize with their emotions. It is a thankless task to 
warn them that such practices are abnormal to the last 
degree, destructive to the nervous organization, weakening 
to the objective intellect, and, instead of being promotive 
of spiritual growth, constitute the direct path to spiritual 
imbecility. It is even useless to try to encourage them 
by explaining to them that the faculties which they are 
trying to use amidst the trammels of the flesh and the 
limitations of the law of suggestion, are faculties which are 
normal only to a future life, when the soul is freed from its 
earthly limitations, and is thereby enabled to exercise those 
intuitional powers of perception which belong only to a 
realm of truth. They are not content to await their allotted 
time, but rush unbidden to the gates of heaven, determined 
to penetrate the secrets which Jesus withheld from all 
mankind, and which must forever remain a mystery to 
incarnate man. 

I remarked, in the beginning of this digression, that " the 
possession of the intuitional faculty alone would, to the dis- 
embodied soul, constitute the Buddhistic Nirvana." I mean 
by this remark that, if this faculty of the soul constituted 
the only one which it carries with it into a future life, it 
would correspond exactly with the Brahmanist idea of the 
status and capacity of the perfected soul. It would be a 
purely intellectual being, destitute of emotion, and therefore 
divested of all human interest or affection, bereft of memory, 
and therefore of individuality, and possessing only what is 
vaguely termed a " cosmic consciousness," which seems to 
have reference to nothing of human interest, if it has any 
definite meaning whatever. We might well suppose such a 
being to be destined to be absorbed into Brahm without 
either loss to itself or material gain to Brahm. 

To the Western mind, accustomed to regard a future life 



282 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

as one fraught with human interest, such a destiny would 
be regarded as equivalent to utter annihilation. It becomes 
important, therefore, for us to inquire whether there is any- 
thing in the structure of the subjective mind to warrant a 
conclusion so repugnant to every normal emotion of the 
human soul. 

In pursuing this inquiry, the first question which naturally 
arises is, What is the primary and most essential attribute or 
power which man, constituted as he is in this life, most nat- 
urally desires his soul to possess as a means of enjoyment in 
a life to come ? Clearly, the answer of every normally con- 
stituted person would be, The retention of conscious indi- 
viduality. It is obvious that all other enjoyments depend 
upon that. Any condition, minus the personality, would be 
the equivalent of annihilation. " What a man is and has in 
himself," says Schopenhauer, "in a word, personality, with 
all it entails, is the only immediate and direct factor in his 
happiness and welfare." This, in the very nature of things, 
must be as true of a future life as it is of the present. If, 
therefore, it can be shown that the soul has the means and 
the power to retain that personality, it will be seen that the 
great factor in man's happiness and welfare will be present 
in a future life. 

The three essential prerequisites to the retention of per- 
sonality are (i) Consciousness, (2) Memory, and (3) Will. 
Consciousness and memory are the two co-ordinate, con- 
comitant factors which constitute the personality of each 
individual, so far as he himself is able to realize it, or to 
take cognizance of his own existence as a distinct entity. 
Consciousness is the state of being aware of one's existence 
and of one's mental acts and states. Memory is the faculty 
of the mind by which it retains the knowledge of previous 
thoughts or events ; without memory there could be no pos- 
sible retention of personality. What is known of the sum 
total of a man's experiences and qualities constitutes his per- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 283 

sonality as it is cognized by others. What one remembers of 
those experiences constitutes his personality as cognized by 
himself. It follows that one's personality is more or less 
pronounced in proportion to the retentiveness of his mem- 
ory ; just as one is distinguished in the estimation of his 
fellows in proportion to what is known of his characteristics 
as shown by the known events of his life. If, therefore, the 
memory and the consciousness should be blotted out, the 
being might sustain an existence, but it would be purely 
vegetal. The personality would remain only as a memory 
of those who knew him ; but, so far as the individual would 
be concerned, his condition would be the equivalent of 
annihilation. 

The intelligent reader will have anticipated me in what I 
am to say regarding the perfect memory of the subjective 
mind, and the conclusions derivable therefrom. As the 
perfection of subjective memory has been again and again 
demonstrated, 1 it will here be taken for granted. The gen- 
eral conclusion to be derived is that the personality of the 
soul will be as much more pronounced than that of the ob- 
jective, physical human entity as the memory of the former 
exceeds that of the latter. 

Again the reader must be reminded of the fundamental 
axiom upon which this argument is based, which is, in brief, 
that there is no useless faculty of the human mind. It will 
then be pertinent to inquire what possible function a per- 
fect subjective memory can be supposed to perform if it is 
not what has been indicated ? It must be remembered, — 

1. That the objective mind possesses a power of recol- 
lection which is all-sufficient for the uses of this life. A 
perfect subjective memory has, therefore, no function to per- 
form in the intellectual processes of objective existence. 

2. That all exercise, on the physical plane, of the powers 
of the subjective mind are abnormal, and productive of 

1 See "The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. iv., v. 



284 



A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 



untoward results to the physical frame. It has, therefore, 
no normal function pertaining to physical life. 

The question then arises, What function can it perform in 
a future life ? Clearly it is not a necessity as an aid to the 
intellectual processes of the soul ; for that has been shown 
to possess the inherent power of intuitional perception or 
cognition of all truth. It would, therefore, be a faculty as 
superfluous to the soul as the faculty of reasoning induc- 
tively, considered solely as an aid to intellectual develop- 
ment, and for the same reason. 

There remains but one other direction in which we can 
look with reasonable hope to find a normal function for 
perfect subjective memory. In that direction we find three 
functions, two of which are concomitant and obvious, and 
the other is inferential and speculative. 

The first is what has already been indicated ; namely, it 
enables the soul to retain its personality. The second is 
included in the first ; namely, it enables the soul to recog- 
nize its friends, and, inferentially, to resume social relations 
at will. Here, then, are ample functions for the memory of 
the soul, and they are of weighty import in more senses 
than have been named ; but these will be reserved for future 
consideration. It is sufficient for the present to have shown 
that the soul has the prerequisite faculties for the retention 
of its personality, and it remains to ascertain if it also pos- 
sesses the motive force necessary for the purpose. The 
third prerequisite named is will. 

Will is a motive force : it chooses when stimulated by 
desire; it has its biological origin in desire. One's will, 
therefore, is strong in proportion to his desires regarding 
any particular object; and, other things being equal, his 
ability to accomplish a particular end is in exact proportion 
to his strength of will, or desire to do so. Without will, 
therefore, nothing can be accomplished. It is this which 
distinguishes the man from the brute ; that is to say, it is 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 285 

one of the factors which count for immortal life in man, but 
which is totally absent in the brute ; the man wills to 
retain his individuality after the death of the body, and he 
alone has the power and potentiality of a self-existent 
entity. The inchoate soul of the brute has no conception 
of a future life, and hence no desire — no will — to enable 
him to retain his individuality, and no consciousness of the 
possibility of any but a physical life. 

The strongest desire of the human soul is to retain its 
personality. It is instinctive ; that is to say, it is the ex- 
tension of the instinct of self-preservation to a future life. 
It is the higher manifestation of that instinct, the primary 
function of which is the preservation of the body, but 
which belongs equally to the soul, and performs its higher 
function in the preservation of its personality. Jesus ex- 
pressed, in the strongest possible terms, the strength and 
intensity of human desire, when he said, " What shall it 
profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his 
own soul? " 

If any one doubts the intensity of the desire of the nor- 
mal man for the retention of his personality, let him try to 
think of some living person with whom he would be willing 
to exchange personalities. It is doubtful if there is a per- 
son so utterly miserable and unfortunate that he would be 
willing to blot out all of the memories which constitute his 
individuality, abandon all his hopes for the future, and ac- 
cept in exchange the personality of the most fortunate per- 
son on earth. Such is the inherent egoism (not egotism) of 
the subjective entity. 

Let not this word be construed altogether in the offensive 
sense ; for the emotion represented has a normal function 
to perform which is of the most transcendent importance. 

It is desirable at this point to understand clearly certain 
very important distinctions which must be drawn before the 
subject can be properly understood. As the dictionaries 



286 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

do not make the proper distinctions, eo nomine, it will be 
necessary to depart from the usual definitions. The word 
" egotism " being now always employed in the offensive 
sense, extreme vanity and self-conceit being designated by 
that term, it will be retained to designate the abnormal 
manifestation of the attribute to which I wish to draw at- 
tention. The word " egoism " has always been defined as 
synonymous with " egotism," except where it is employed in 
reference to a certain school of philosophy supposed to 
have been founded by a sect of the disciples of Descartes 
and Fichte. But I shall press the w r ord " egoism " into 
service to designate the normal manifestation of the at- 
tribute or faculty alluded to, partly to avoid coining a word, 
but principally because it happily expresses my exact mean- 
ing. I define " egoism," therefore, as the passio?iate desire 
of the human soul for the retention of its personality or in- 
dividuality. This represents the normal emotion and its 
normal manifestation ■ and, as before remarked, it is the 
strongest emotion of the human soul. Its inherent strength 
and persistency is made apparent to common observation 
in the fact that it manifests itself under all conditions of 
abnormal subjective mental activity. Under abnormal con- 
ditions, that is to say, when for any cause the subjective 
mind is in control, it is the one never-failing characteristic 
emotion, dominant over every other, and as offensive in 
its manifestations as it is colossal in its proportions. It is 
ever present in habitual hypnotic subjects, especially in 
those who are used for stage exhibitions \ it is chronic in 
adepts, spirit mediums, and criminals ; it assumes colossal 
proportions in actors, artists, poets, and musicians ; and it 
is the salient characteristic of hysteria, genius, and insanity. 
Nor is it confined to the classes named ; for it characterizes 
all who for any cause allow the subjective faculties to at- 
tain undue prominence in earthly life. These are its 
abnormal manifestations, and they are abnormal simply 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 287 

because they are manifested under abnormal mental and 
physical conditions. This is " egotism " in its offensive 
sense ; and it is the primary, fundamental emotion which, 
uncontrolled by objective reason, leads to immorality, vice, 
crime, and insanity. It belongs exclusively to the sub- 
jective mind. 

The corresponding attribute of the objective mind can 
be appropriately designated by no other term than that of 
" self-respect ; " which is concomitant with reason, and 
springs from a consciousness of rectitude and of power equal 
to all legitimate demands. It is that regard for one's 
character which manifests itself in abstention from the per- 
formance of unworthy actions. It is always normal when 
controlled by reason ; but when reason ceases to perform 
its legitimate functions, the subjective mind usurps its place 
in this respect as in every other, and egotism in its most 
offensive sense and form is the inevitable result. These, 
then, are the distinctions which must be constantly borne 
in mind when considering this most important mental 
attribute of man. 

That it is of the utmost importance, is manifest from the 
one fact alone, which has already been alluded to, that 
" egoism " bears the same relation to the psychical or spir- 
itual entity that what is known to common observation as 
" the instinct of self-preservation " bears to the physical 
man. The one preserves the soul; the other preserves 
the body. It is, in fact, the one instinct of self-preserva- 
tion manifested on both the physical and the spiritual 
planes. On the physical plane it has as many ways of man- 
ifesting itself as there are dangers threatening the safety of 
the body. On the spiritual plane there is but the one way 
for it to manifest itself; for there is but one possible danger 
that threatens the existence of the soul, and that is the 
loss of conscious personality. 

The acts and motive power preservative of the physical 



288 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

life are dynamic. The power preservative of the spiritual 
life is spiritual ; it is the will, — the initial motive force or 
power belonging to mental or spiritual life. 

Now, will being stimulated by desire, and the strongest 
desire of the soul being to retain its conscious personality, 
it follows that the one great element of potency in the soul 
expends its greatest energy in a?i effort to retai7i its conscious 
personality independently of physical conditiojis. 

It will thus be seen that "egoism," which has heretofore 
been regarded as wholly abnormal, is, in reality, a faculty 
of the soul of infinite importance, having a normal function 
to perform which alone renders a continued existence in a 
future life possible. Egoism, as I have defined it, com- 
bined with faith, constitutes the mental dynamics of the 
soul. Without it the soul would be in much the same con- 
dition as the body would be in the absence of the instinct 
of self-preservation. Without the will or desire to live, 
without the instinct which causes the body to shrink from 
peril, one would be a passive victim to the myriad adverse 
forces of his environment. If he survived his childhood, it 
would be because of the watchful care of others. What 
would be the fate of the soul, minus its instinctive clinging 
to its personality, — minus the desire, the will, to retain 
its individuality and to sustain an independent existence as 
a distinct entity, — what, in short, would be its fate in the 
absence of the dynamics of the mind, can only be deter- 
mined by logical deduction. Thus, if faculty implies func- 
tion, the absence of faculty implies the absence of function. 
If the possession of legs implies the ability to walk, the ab- 
sence of legs implies the antithesis. 

The argument on this branch of the subject now stands 
thus : — 

i. The essential prerequisites to the retention of person- 
ality are (a) Consciousness ; (b) Memory ; (c) Will. 

2. The soul has a perfect memory, which performs no 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 289 

normal function in this life, and is superfluous in a future 
life, considered merely as an aid to intellectual work, in 
view of its power of intuitional perception. 

3. Corollary : Its ability to remember the facts of its ex- 
perience can have no use or object other than that of the 
retention of its own personality and the recognition of other 
personalities. 

4. Since memory presupposes consciousness, the latter 
must be presumed to be as perfect as the former. 

5. Will constitutes the initial motive power of the human 
mind and soul. 

6. Will has its biological origin in desire \ and egoism, 
the strongest of human emotions, is the desire of the soul 
to retain its personality — to be saved from annihilation. 

7. Corollary : The soul possesses all the mental powers 
necessary for the retention of its personality and for the 
maintenance of an existence independently of the body. 

It will thus be seen that the subjective mind, or the mind 
of the soul, possesses all the mental attributes which consti- 
tute what may be termed the purely intellectual dynamics. 
It remains to consider another power, peculiarly its own, 
which demonstrates the actual possession by the soul of a 
kinetic potency which for the present cannot be classed as 
intellectual. I refer, of course, to its power to move 
ponderable bodies, otherwise known as the power of levita- 
tion. It is that power which, in spiritistic circles, produces 
raps upon floors, walls, and furniture, levitates the medium, 
tilts tables, and sometimes causes the most orderly and 
dignified parlor furniture to " cut fantastic tricks before 
high heaven." Of the existence of this force no one who 
has investigated the subject, pretends to doubt. It has 
been investigated by many of the ablest scientists of the 
world, notably by Prof. Elliot Coues, of Washington, and 
Professors Crookes and Lodge, of London, besides many 
other scientists of lesser note in Europe and America. 

19 



29O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Professor Coues has given it a name, "Telekinesis," and 
writes on the subject learnedly and interestingly, as he 
writes on every subject which he handles; and Professor 
Crookes has given the world a very learned disquisition on 
the topic; whilst Professor Lodge has exhausted the re- 
sources of human ingenuity in devising tests demonstrative 
of the existence of the force, and of the English language 
in describing them. Spiritists, of course, have an easy way 
of accounting for it by referring it directly to spirits of the 
dead. But no scientist has been able to do more than to 
enable us to say that it is a power belonging exclusively to 
the subjective entity; that it performs no normal function 
in this life ; that it requires a physical basis in order to 
produce phenomena cognizable by the objective senses, and 
thus, like all other psychic phenomena known as spiritistic, 
it is never produced except as a result of the most intensely 
abnormal physical and mental conditions. In reference to 
the claims of the spiritists it need only be said that there is 
no valid evidence whatever that disembodied spirits either 
do or can produce the phenomena of telekinesis. 

The only thing that can be said of the power with cer- 
tainty is that it exists ; that it is not a power of the objec- 
tive mind ; that it is a power of the human soul, and that 
it is valuable in this life only as an evidence that there is a 
kinetic force resident in the soul. It will readily be seen, 
however, that the bare fact of its existence as a factor in 
the organism of the soul is of the most transcendent in- 
terest and importance, although we may never know in this 
life all that it implies when it is exercised in the future life. 
Nor is it important that we should know. But it is of the 
utmost importance that we should know that the soul is 
possessed of kinetic force, for it completes the chain of 
evidence necessary to demonstrate the fact that it possesses 
the power and potentiality of a self-existent entity. It is 
simply impossible to conceive of an intelligent organism 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 29 1 

minus kinetic force; for no matter how ethereal or im- 
ponderable the soul may be, measured by physical stan- 
dards, it must be supposed to possess the power of moving, 
or causing motion, suitable to its environment. Besides, 
if, as we must suppose, the soul is a spark of the Divine 
Intelligence, it must be invested, in some degree, with the 
potential energy inhering in Omnipotence. 




CHAPTER XX. 

THE AFFECTIONAL EMOTIONS OF THE SOUL. 

All the Affectional Emotions Retained in the Future Life. — Telepa- 
thy the Means of Communion in the Future Life. — Telepathy 
neither Vestigial nor Rudimentary. — It performs no Normal 
Function in this Life. 



TN the chapters next preceding this I have shown, first, 
1 that in the faculty of intuitive perception of the laws of 
Nature the soul possesses the prerequisites of a purely 
intellectual existence ; secondly, that, in its perfect memory 
combined with its egoism, it possesses both the desire and 
power to retain its personality or individuality ; and, thirdly, 
that, in the abnormal phenomenon of telekinesis, the fact 
is demonstrated that the soul possesses that kinetic power 
which necessarily belongs to every intelligent organism. 
The possession of only these powers would characterize 
a purely intellectual being, retaining its personality, but 
divested of every affectional emotion and destitute of any 
means of intelligent communication with others. It is, per- 
haps, superfluous to remark that such a being would corre- 
spond exactly with the ideas of the Brahmans and Buddhists 
who believe that the destiny of man is absorption by the 
Deity, modified by retention of personality. It is notable 
that, in common with that other sect who hold that the 
absorption is complete and the personality lost, they take 
no account of the natural affections of mankind, and, con- 
sequently, ignore all possibility of a social life in Nirvana. 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 293 

In point of fact, they hold that all the affectional emotions 
belong exclusively to the incarnate man, and hence they 
begin their preparations for Nirvana by crushing out every 
human affection or impulse that pertains to social or domes- 
tic life, retaining nothing of an emotional character save 
their own monstrous, monumental egotism. 

Such an existence might gratify the aspirations of those 
who pass the greater part of their mortal life in that state of 
abnormal subjectivity of which egotism is the salient charac- 
teristic. But to the normal Occidental man, unused to the 
processes of self-hypnotization ; unused to surrendering his 
reason, and plunging into the realm of subjective hallucina- 
tion induced by auto-suggestion ; who has been taught to 
regard the love of wife, children, and friends as among the 
purest and holiest emotions of the human soul, — to such a 
man the promise of a future life without the prospect of a 
reunion with the loved ones who have gone before or who 
are to follow after, would offer no attractions that he would 
not gladly exchange for annihilation. To the normal man 
or woman an existence without love or the capacity and 
means for social enjoyment would be worse than annihila- 
tion. It is only by a determined and persistent repression 
of the normal emotions, by means of an abnormal asceticism, 
that any human being can bring his mind to such a state 
of moral and affectional atrophy as to contemplate with 
equanimity a final separation from family, friends, and 
kindred. 

Let us, then, still further examine the known attributes of 
the subjective mind, with a view of ascertaining whether 
there is any warrant for the assumption that in the future life 
we are to be bereft of all that we hold dear in this. 

Fortunately we have not far to look j for, standing on the 
very threshold of the inquiry, is the broad and significant fact 
that all the emotions that impart joy or sorrow to humanity 
find their origin and seat in the subjective mind. It is true 



294 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

that their functions pertain in part to this life. It is true 
that their primary function is to perpetuate the species ; that 
their normal activity gives life and light and love and joy 
and happiness to incarnate humanity ; and that, perverted, 
they are the prolific source of sorrow, misery, degradation, 
and despair. Like every other attribute of the soul when 
uncontrolled by objective reason, that is, when perverted to 
base and ignoble uses, they are prolific of evil consequences ; 
whilst their normal exercise is promotive of the highest good 
to humanity. But, whatever may be the result of their 
exercise here, the fact that the subjective mind is the seat of 
the emotions is demonstrative that they have a higher func- 
tion to pe: f jrm in a realm where perversion is impossible. 

It will thus be seen that the love and affection which man 
bears to his fellow-man will not be blotted out of existence 
when the brain ceases to perform its functions ; for it exists 
in that mind which performs its functions independently of 
the brain's existence, in that mind which grows stronger as 
the brain grows weaker, in that mind whose strongest 
observable manifestations occur in the hour of death. If 
there is no faculty without a function, it follows that the 
affectional emotions have a legitimate sphere of exercise in 
that home not made with hands. In other words, the 
existence of those emotions in the soul constitutes indubita- 
ble evidence that there will exist, in the life to come, ample 
means for their exercise ; and that conclusion presupposes 
a reunion with the legitimate objects of our love. 

There is now but one thing lacking in the attributes and 
powers of the soul to complete the mental equipment neces- 
sary for an enjoyable intellectual and social existence of 
the highest order conceivable by the mind of man. It is 
almost superfluous to say that the one other thing needful 
is a means of communication between disembodied souls, 
or to remark that this want finds an ample supply in the 
power of telepathy. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 295 

Telepathy, as has again and again been demonstrated, is 
a power belonging exclusively to the subjective mind ; the 
objective mind does not possess it in the remotest degree. 
This fact is evidenced by every salient telepathic phenom- 
enon. It is the subjective mind that reads, and it is the 
subjective mind that is read. The objective thoughts of one 
cannot be read by the subjective mind of another, unless the 
objective and subjective thoughts happen to be synchronous. 
Hence it is very rare that a telepathist reads what the 
sitter is consciously thinking of. These facts, however, are 
of such common knowledge that it would be a waste of time 
to enlarge upon them. 

The important fact connected with telepathy is that it 
performs no normal function in this life. This is obvious 
from the fact that it is only under abnormal conditions of 
the body and mind that the phenomenon is observable. 

Much ink has been wasted in discussing the question 
whether telepathy is vestigial or rudimentary. The fact is 
that there is not a scintilla of valid evidence to show that 
it is either. If it were vestigial, we should have the right to 
expect to find indubitable evidence of its existence in the 
lower animals. But the fact is that there is little evidence 
to show that they can communicate in that way with each 
other. They all have an oral or objective language of their 
own, and all their senses are infinitely more acute than man's. 
This would hardly be the case if telepathy existed in animals 
as a normal power capable of affording protection or con- 
tributing to their well being. I am not unmindful of the 
well-known experiment of Prof. C. V. Riley, 1 an eminent 
scientist of Washington, who occluded a foreign insect and 
released it two miles from its mate ; and the two were found 
together the next morning. The learned professor has 
suggested telepathy as a possible explanation of the fact ; 
but he would hardly regard it as conclusive evidence of the 

1 Since deceased. 



296 



A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION" 



existence of that power in insects, in view of the well-known 
sensory powers of many of the lower animals, including 
insects. Besides, it is a feat that is vastly outdone by the 
carrier pigeon, whose marvellous powers are referable entirely 
to the sense of sight. There is, however, much evidence to 
show that man can influence animals telepathically ; but no 
conclusive evidence has yet been forthcoming to show that 
animals can so communicate with each other. Neither is 
there any evidence to show that man ever possessed the 
power of telepathy in any greater degree than he now 
possesses it, or that he was ever in a physical or mental 
condition more or less favorable to the development of that 
power than he is now. There is therefore no evidence what- 
ever that the faculty is vestigial. 

There is as little evidence that it is a " rudimentary sixth 
sense," as many learned men, who are fond of rudimentary 
speculations without facts, would have us believe. It is true 
that there are more telepathists now than ever existed before ; 
and it is also true that there are more hysterical women, of 
both sexes, than ever existed before. Besides, telepathy has 
only recently been scientifically investigated, and the fact 
that it is a power of the human mind has only recently been 
demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific world. 
But the demonstration of a fact of such startling import has 
sent thousands into the field of experimental psychology, 
with the result that millions of experiments have been made, 
demonstrating nothing but the bare fact that the power 
exists, and that it cannot be made useful in this life. It has 
not advanced human knowledge one step in the direction 
of any useful result or in the development of any useful 
power. It would be difficult to show that, of all the experi- 
ments that have been made or of all the instances where 
it has been spontaneously manifested, there is one case 
where it has proved to be of any benefit whatever. In the 
very nature of things this must always be true, for the simple 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 297 

reason that the law of suggestion must always render every 
experiment uncertain until the result has been verified by 
objective means. No one who is aware of the existence 
of that law would ever dare to depend upon a telepathic 
message where any material interest was at stake \ and until 
the law of suggestion can be nullified, that is to say, until 
all possible subjective hallucinations, arising from possible 
suggestions, can be eliminated as possible factors in supposed 
telepathic experiences, there can be no possible means of 
rendering telepathy useful in earthly life. 

Again, if telepathy were either vestigial or rudimentary, 
it would be manifested under normal conditions. It would 
be equivalent to a contradiction in terms to suppose that 
a normal faculty must always be exercised under abnormal 
conditions. The only condition approaching normality 
under which telepathy is ever manifested is in dreams. 
But until the element of suggestion arising from waking 
thoughts or peripheral stimuli can be eliminated from 
dreams, it is obvious that they cannot be depended upon 
as sources of information in the affairs of this life. 

No ; telepathy performs no normal function on the 
physical plane. We can catch only occasional glimpses 
of it here, — just enough to enable us to know that in the 
future life, when physical organs of speech no longer exist, 
there is ample provision for intelligent communion with 
those who share our destiny. 




CHAPTER XXL 



PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 



The Abnormality of Psychic Manifestations. — The Dangers attend- 
ing Psychic Activity. — The Different Forms of Psychic Develop- 
ment. — Psychic Powers inversely Proportioned to Health. — 
Unsuspected Dangers. — Musicians. — Stenographers and Type- 
writers. — Compositors. — Genius and Insanity. — Opinions of 
Scientists. — Dr. MacDonald. — Summary. — Biographical Facts. 
— The Great Practical Lesson of Psychic Science. — Immorality, 
Vice, Crime, and Insanity the Result of Psychic Activity. 

r T" HE lessons which psychic science teaches pertain not 
* alone to the future world, but they are of the utmost 
practical value in this life. Indeed, I speak the words of 
truth and soberness when I declare that there is no subject 
of human thought and investigation of such transcendent 
and imminent practical importance to mankind as that of 
psychic science. And the great lesson which it teaches, 
the lesson which embraces all the others, is that psychic 
phenomena are never produced except under the most in- 
tensely abnormal conditions of the physical and the mental 
organism. 

It may sound paradoxical to say that man's most impor- 
tant study can be successfully prosecuted only under and 
by virtue of abnormal conditions ; but it must be remem- 
bered that it has always been by means of the study of 
abnormal phenomena that much of what man knows of his 
normal conditions has been revealed to him. 

If man were always physically and mentally normal, 
there would be comparatively little learned of his physical 



DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE 299 

or mental structure, for there would be no incentive to 
study. He would then be like a perfect machine, which, 
so long as normal conditions prevail, may be successfully 
operated by one who knows little or nothing of its internal 
structure ; but when the machine breaks, or for any reason 
fails to perform its normal functions, the operator is com- 
pelled to investigate the cause ; and he thus becomes 
acquainted with its internal mechanism. It is because of 
disease that the physician becomes acquainted with the laws 
of health ; and it is for the same reason that the surgeon is 
compelled to study the anatomy of the human frame. It 
was through the study of abnormal conditions of the body 
that Harvey was led to the discovery of the circulation of 
the blood. It was through the study of abnormal conditions 
of the mind that Hammond was led to the discovery that 
the brain is not the sole organ of the mind ; and it was by 
means of abnormal conditions, congenital or induced, that 
he was enabled to demonstrate his theorem, and was thus 
enabled to give to the scientific world a physiological basis, 
not only for studying the problems of insanity, but upon 
which to postulate an immortal soul. In the physiological 
realm, abnormal conditions are practically the only incen- 
tives to serious study. In the psychical world they are at 
once the stimuli to the study of the science of the soul, and 
the means by which it can be successfully prosecuted. 

I do not undertake to say that, because psychic phenom- 
ena are never produced except under abnormal conditions, 
they should never be produced. In view of the therapeutic 
value of hypnotism and cognate means of healing the sick, 
and especially in view of the precepts and example of 
Jesus, it would be absurd to attempt to prohibit the pro- 
duction of psychic phenomena. But the use of it for 
therapeutic purposes can be justified only on the same 
ground that the use of poisonous drugs for medicines can 
be justified. Their production can also be justified for 



300 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

purposes of scientific experiment ; but only upon the same 
ground that we can justify experimental medicine or vivi- 
section. It is absolutely necessary, then, that abnormal 
conditions be studied in order to enable us to understand 
and preserve normal conditions ; and this is as true of the 
soul as it is of the body. But as it is unnecessary and 
improper for the physician to induce and perpetuate disease 
in a human body in order to study the laws of health, it is 
also in the highest degree improper, as well as unnecessary, 
to select a victim and continually induce an abnormal or 
diseased condition of his mind in order to study psychology. 
There is an abundance of disease both of body and of 
mind, existing all around us, from which all the necessary 
data can be obtained, without the necessity of immolating 
a human body or a human soul upon the altar of science. 
Nevertheless, it is probable that, for many years to come, 
experiments will be made with a view to new discoveries ; 
and it is in the highest degree probable that hypnotism 
will, in some of its myriad forms, and when its laws are 
better understood, be largely employed not only for 
therapeutic purposes, but for moulding human character, 
especially in the young. 

In the mean time the first great lesson to learn is that 
it is an abnormal condition at the best, and should never be 
tampered with by the ignorant; nor should it ever be 
employed except as a remedial agent, physical or moral, 
and then only by those who are familiar with its laws. 

But the great lesson which psychic science teaches, and 
in which every human being is interested, is that all psychic 
activity is not only abnormal, but it is in the highest 
degree injurious to the body as well as to the mind. 

I have again and again sought to impress upon my 
readers the pregnant fact that, whenever the subjective mind 
of man usurps control over the dual mental organism, Reason 
abdicates her throne ; and, just in proportion to the com- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 30 1 

pleteness and persistency of that control, the subject is 
insane. Not only is this true, but it is a fact, which the 
experience of every-day life will demonstrate to the mind 
of the most superficial observer, that many of the nervous 
diseases to which mankind is subject, and all immorality, 
vice, crime, and insanity are the direct results of abnormal 
psychic activity and control over the dual mental or- 
ganization. 

Abnormal psychic activity in this life is the most insidious 
and formidable foe which man is called upon to encounter. 
It lurks everywhere and in every guise, and it threatens the 
stability of human society ; for it strikes at the foundation 
of the most sacred of all human relations. It is the " drop 
of poison in man's purest cup." To substantiate this 
indictment, it is only necessary to call attention to a few of 
the leading classes of psychic phenomena, and note their 
effect, physical and moral, upon those who are the instru- 
ments of their production. It must be premised, however, 
that whilst it is true that psychic activity is destructive to 
the health of the body and utterly demoralizing to the 
nervous system, its untoward moral effects are largely due to 
utter ignorance, on the part of the psychic, of the source of 
the phenomena. Thus, spiritistic phenomena are always 
produced under the impression on the part of the psychic 
that they emanate from an extraneous source, — from a 
superior intelligence which the psychic can in no wise con- 
trol ; and the result is utterly demoralizing to the mind as 
well as to the body. 1 

No one who is familiar with the class of psychics known 
as "mediums" will gainsay the statement that, as a class, 
they are to the last degree neurotic. If there are exceptions 
to the rule, they are in cases where the psychic powers are 
of very recent development. It is probably true that 

1 For a full discussion of this important point, see " The Law of 
Psychic Phenomena," ch. xxii. 



302 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

perfectly healthy persons may develop psychic powers, 
although competent physicians are at variance on that 
point. The Charcot school of hypnotists hold that the 
psychic condition is itself a disease; whilst the Nancy 
school have seemingly demonstrated that perfectly healthy 
persons may be thrown into that condition. Be that as it 
may, the fact remains that the habitual indulgence in 
psychic practices, of any kind, grade, or character, will 
invariably result in some form of nervous derangement and 
disease ; and if carried to excess, or continued long, will 
result in insanity or imbecility. Dr. Hammond, in his able 
work entitled " Spiritualism and Nervous Derangement/' 1 
has forever settled the relations between psychic conditions 
and nervous diseases. They are always concomitant \ and 
psychic activity may be either the cause or the result of 
nervous disease. But they invariably accompany each 
other. This is demonstrated by the facts, first, that no one 
can become a good psychic until a nervous derangement 
has been induced ; second, the best psychics are those 
whose nervous systems are completely shattered \ and, third, 
the degree of psychic power attainable by any one is in 
exact proportion to the intensity of his nervous derange- 
ment. The Seeress of Prevorst affords a striking example 
illustrating these propositions. 2 Bedridden for many years 
with a complication of the most terrible nervous disorders, 
she exhibited the most wonderful variety of psychic powers 
ever recorded. Mollie Fancher, the Brooklyn Enigma, 3 
affords another striking illustration of the concomitance of 
nervous disease and psychic power. Owing to an accident 
which shattered her nervous system, this lady was thrown 
into a trance condition which lasted nine years, during 
which a series of the most wonderful psychic feats were 

1 Putnam's, N. Y., 1876. 

2 See " Seeress of Prevorst," London, 1845. 

3 See Judge Dailey's volume, Brooklyn, 1894. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 303 

performed. Her powers still continue to be manifested ; 
but it is noted in the latter part of Judge Dailey's book that 
as she improves in health she is gradually losing her psychic 
power. 

But it is useless to multiply citations of particular 
instances. It is a fact which can be verified by observation 
in any case where psychic phenomena are produced, that it 
requires an intensely abnormal condition of both body and 
mind to enable any one to achieve success in the psychic 
world ; and this is true, without reference to the character 
of the manifestations, from the simplest telepathic experi- 
ment in an apparently normal condition down to the deepest 
trance that was ever induced in the passive victim of 
experimental hypnotism. 

It is not, however, in the purely experimental part of 
psychic phenomena that the greatest and most insidious 
danger lurks. Like any other dangerous thing, it is all the 
more so when its presence is unsuspected. Psychic dangers 
are everywhere present, and exert their baleful influence in 
many places where the superficial observer would least 
expect to find them. Certain trades and occupations are 
beset with the danger in its most insidious form. For 
instance : — 

Musicians are constantly in imminent danger of the evil 
consequences of an undue development of the subjective 
faculties ; and their greatest peril arises from the fact that 
the foe is unsuspected. But a moment's consideration will 
render it plain that there are evils to guard against even in 
so noble an art as that of music. Music, as I have before 
pointed out, is the language of the emotions, and has its 
origin in the subjective mind. The mechanical execution 
of good music by a trained musician is automatic, and 
therefore subjective. The common experience of every 
musician worthy of the name will bear me out in this asser- 
tion ; and no one will gainsay the statement that good 



304 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

musicians as a class are exceedingly emotional, and in the 
highest degree nervous, excitable, passionate, jealous. The 
simple reason is that they have cultivated the subjective 
faculties without knowing the laws pertaining to subjective 
mental activity, and, consequently, without realizing the 
dangers, physical, mental, and moral, which attend the 
undue development of the subjective faculties, uncontrolled 
by objective reason. I do not say that musicians, as a 
class, are more immoral than other classes of people, 
although that charge has been freely made by others who 
are, perhaps, actuated by unworthy motives ; but I do say 
that they necessarily and habitually cultivate those faculties 
which, uncontrolled by reason, are liable to lead men astray. 
Fortunately, however, musicians are, as a rule, far above the 
average in point of mental cultivation and social standing, 
and hence are better qualified to appreciate the dangers 
which lurk in their pathway. They may, therefore, be able 
to guard against the moral evils attending the undue domi- 
nance of the subjective faculties and emotions, but can never 
wholly overcome the abnormal physical conditions incident 
to them. 

Stenographers and Typewriters are also beset with dan- 
gers arising from the same source. I mean, of course, 
good stenographers and good typewriters ; for good work 
in those lines is always the result of such training as is re- 
quired to enable the operator to do the work automatically. 
When that amount of skill is acquired, the danger begins, 
for the obvious reason that automatism is purely subjective. 
No one acquainted with the facts will gainsay the observa- 
tion that stenographers and typewriters, as a class, are the 
victims of nervous disorders, oftentimes approaching the 
verge of insanity. Numbers of them employed in the Gov- 
ernment departments at Washington are compelled to 
abandon their positions, owing to the nervous strain to 
which they are subjected. 






OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 305 

Compositors are also beset by the same dangers. Again, 
I mean good compositors, that is, those whose training in 
type-setting is such as to enable them to work automatically ; 
and no really good compositor, that is, one who can do a 
big day's work with reasonable accuracy, ever does or ever 
can set type in any other way. Every one who is ac- 
quainted with the besetting weaknesses of the craft will 
indorse what I say, and will agree with me that their 
troubles and their habits are the result of abnormal subjec- 
tive mental activity. 

But it is useless to multiply instances. The whole prin- 
ciple may be summed up in the general statement that any 
employment which unduly develops the subjective powers 
in any direction whatever, is attended by abnormal physical 
and mental conditions. If any class of people deserve an 
ample compensation, and are entitled to shorter hours and 
increased pay, it is that class whose occupation results in 
the development of the subjective faculties. Moreover, if 
any deserve a rich reward in the world to come, it is those 
who resist the temptations which beset the pathway of 
those whose subjective faculties are unduly developed. 

Another class of people whose subjective faculties are un- 
duly developed deserves especial mention. I refer to men 
of genius. I have elsewhere 1 defined genius as being the 
result of the synchronous action of the two minds ; a con- 
dition which confers upon the individual the benefit of the 
perfect memory and the other powers of the subjective 
mind, but does not deprive him of his objective powers of 
reason. A perfect synchronism of development and activity 
would necessarily produce a wonderful intelligence, an in- 
tellectual colossus, in whatever field of endeavor he might 
engage. History furnishes but one example of perfect syn- 
chronism of development, intellectual, moral, and religious, 
— Jesus of Nazareth. Shakespeare comes as near the 

1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena." 
20 



306 



A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 



ideal of intellectual symmetry as any man of whom we 
have any means of judging. But we have numerous exam- 
ples of genius where the synchronism was only partial. 
Great results have been achieved by them, and the world 
will never cease to cherish the memory and worship at the 
shrine of those intellectual giants whose works mark the 
epochs of history and of science and of the arts. Unfor- 
tunately, however, the personal history of men of genius 
reveals the fact that their intellectual development was 
abnormal to the last degree. So universally true is this that 
alienists find it difficult to distinguish the dividing line be- 
tween genius and insanity, and are wont to couple the two 
in their treatises. Thus, Dr. Arthur MacDonald, Specialist 
in the Bureau of Education at Washington, in his able and 
intensely interesting work entitled " Abnormal Man," x 
devotes a chapter to " Insanity and Genius," in which he 
summarizes a large number of facts relating to the personal 
and pathological characteristics of men of genius in all the 
ages of which history furnishes the data. It would be im- 
possible to present the leading facts in fewer words, or in 
more concise and intelligent form, than Dr. MacDonald 
has summarized them. In view of the transcendent impor- 
tance of the facts as bearing upon the subject under con- 
sideration, I shall take the liberty of making the following 
extracts from his report : — 

" As an introduction to the biographical study of genius it 
will be interesting to give the opinions of geniuses themselves. 

" Aristotle says that under the influence of a congestion of 
the head there are persons who become poets, prophets, and 
sibyls. Plato affirms that delirium is not an evil but a great 
benefaction when it emanates from the divinity. 

" Democritus makes insanity an essential condition of poetry. 
Diderot says : 'Ah, how close the insane and the genius touch; 
they are imprisoned and enchained, or statues are raised to 
them.' Voltaire says : ' Heaven in forming us mixed our life 
with reason and insanity, the elements of our imperfect being; 

1 Circular of Information, No. 4, 1893, Bureau of Education. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 307 

they compose every man, they form his essence.' Pascal says : 
1 Extreme mind is close to extreme insanity.' Mirabeau affirms 
that common-sense is the absence of too vivid passion ; it 
marches by beaten paths, but genius never. Only men with 
great passions can be great. Cato said, before committing sui- 
cide : ' Since when have I shown signs of insanity ? ' Tasso 
said : ' I am compelled to believe that my insanity is caused by 
drunkenness and by love ; for I know well that I drink too 
much/ Cicero speaks of the furor poeticus j Horace of the 
amabilis i7isaniaj Lamartine of the mental disease called 
genius. Newton, in a letter to Locke, says that he passed some 
months without having a ' consistency of mind.' Chateaubriand 
says that his chief fault is weariness, disgust of everything, and 
perpetual doubt. Dryden says : ' Great wit to madness sure is 
near allied.' Lord Beaconsfield says : ' I have sometimes half 
believed, although the suspicion is mortifying, that there is only 
a step between his state who deeply indulges in imaginative 
meditation and insanity. I was not always sure of my identity 
or even existence, for I have found it necessary to shout aloud 
to be sure that I lived.' Schopenhauer confessed that when he 
composed his great work he carried himself strangely, and was 
taken for insane. He said that men of genius are often like 
the insane, given to continual agitation. Tolstoi acknowledges 
that philosophical scepticism had led him to a condition border- 
ing on insanity. George Sand says of herself that at about 
seventeen she became deeply melancholic ; that later she was 
tempted to suicide; that this temptation was so vivid, sudden, 
and bizarre that she considered it a species of insanity. Heine 
said that his disease may have given a morbid character to his 
later compositions. 

" However paradoxical such sayings may seem, a serious in- 
vestigation will show striking resemblances between the highest 
mental activity and diseased mind. As a proof of this we will 
give a number of facts, to which many more might be added. 

" The difficulty of obtaining facts of an abnormal or patho- 
logical nature, and of other unfavorable data, is obvious. Au- 
thors have not only concealed such data, but have not deemed 
them important enough to record. It is due to the medical 
men, whose life brings them closest to abnormal reality, that 
such facts have been gathered. If it be said that the abnormal 
or exceptional must be taken with some caution, because it is 
natural for the mind to exaggerate striking characteristics, it 
must be remembered that such facts, when unfavorable to repu- 



308 



A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 



tation, are concealed. In the study of any exceptional or 
abnormal individual, as the insane or the genius, one finds 
much more concealed than is known. 

" Socrates had hallucinations from his familiar genius or 
daemon. Pausanias, the Lacedemonian, after killing a young 
slave, was tormented until his death by a spirit, which pursued 
him in all places, and which resembled his victim. Lucretius 
was attacked with intermittent mania. Bayle says this mania 
left him lucid intervals, during which he composed six books, 
De rerum natura. He was forty-four years of age when he 
put an end to his life. Charles V. had epileptic attacks during 
his youth. He stammered. He retreated to a monastery, where 
he had the singular phantasy of celebrating his own funeral 
rites in his own presence. His mother (Jane of Castile) was 
insane and deformed. His grandfather (Ferdinand of Ara- 
gon) died at the age of sixty-two, in a state of profound melan- 
cholia. Peter the Great, during infancy, was subject to nervous 
attacks which degenerated into epilepsy. One of his sons had 
hallucinations ; another, convulsions. Caesar was epileptic, of 
feeble constitution, with pallid skin, and subject to headaches. 
Linne, a precocious genius, had a cranium hydrocephalic in 
form. He suffered from a stroke of paralysis. At the end of 
one attack he had forgotten his name. He died in a state of 
senile dementia. Raphael experienced temptations to suicide. 
He himself says : ' I tied the fisherman's cords which I found in 
the boat eight times around her body and mine, tightly as in a 
winding-sheet. I raised her in my arms, which I had kept free 
in order to precipitate her with me into the waves. ... At 
the moment I was to leap, to be swallowed forever with her, I 
felt her pallid head turn upon my shoulder like a dead weight, 
and the body sink down upon my knees.' 

" Pascal, from birth till death, suffered from nervous troubles. 
When he was only a year old, he fell into a languor, during 
which he could not see water without manifesting great out- 
bursts of passion ; and, still more peculiar, he could not bear to 
see his father and mother near each other. In 1627 he had 
paralysis from his waist down, so that he could not walk with- 
out crutches. This condition continued three months. During 
his last hours he was taken with terrible convulsions, in which 
he died. The autopsy showed peculiarities. His cranium ap- 
pears to have no suture, unless, perhaps, the lambdoid or 
sagittal. A large quantity of the brain substance was very 
much condensed. Opposite the ventricles there were two im- 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 309 

pressions as of a finger in wax. These cavities were full of 
clotted and decayed blood, and there was, it is said, a gangre- 
nous condition of the dura mater. Walter Scott, during his 
infancy, had precarious health, and before the age of two, was 
paralyzed in his right limb. He had a stroke of apoplexy. 
He had this vision on hearing of the death of Byron : Coming 
into the dining-room, he saw before him the image of his dead 
friend. On advancing toward it, he recognized that the vision 
was due to drapery extended over the screen. 

" Some men of genius who have observed themselves describe 
their inspiration as a gentle fever, during which their thoughts 
become rapid and involuntary. Dante says : — 

1 ... 1' mi son un che, quando 
Amore spira, noto ed in quel modo 
Che detta dentro vo significando.' 

(I am so made that when love inspires me, I attend ; and according 
as it speaks in me, I speak.) 

"Voltaire, like Cicero, Demosthenes, Newton, and Walter 
Scott, was born under the saddest and most alarming conditions 
of health. His feebleness was such that he could not be taken 
to church to be christened. During his first years he manifested 
an extraordinary mind. In his old age he was like a bent 
shadow. He had an attack of apoplexy at the age of 83. His 
autopsy showed a slight thickness of the bony walls of the 
cranium. In spite of his advanced age, there was an enormous 
development of the encephalon. 

" Michael Angelo, while painting ' The Last Judgment,' fell 
from his scaffold and received a painful injury in the leg. He 
shut himself up and would not see any one. Bacio Rontini, a 
celebrated physician, came by accident to see him. He found 
all the doors closed. No one responding, he went into the cel- 
lar and came upstairs. He found Michael Angelo in his room, 
resolved to die. His friend the physician would not leave him. 
He brought him out of the peculiar frame of mind into which 
he had fallen. The elder brother of Richelieu the Cardinal 
was a singular man ; he committed suicide because of a re- 
buke from his parents. The sister of Richelieu was insane. 
Richelieu himself had attacks of insanity ; he would figure him- 
self as a horse, but afterwards would have no recollection of it. 
Descartes, after a long retirement, was followed by an invisible 
person, who urged him to pursue his investigations after the 
truth. Goethe was sure of having perceived the image of him- 



3IO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

self coming to meet him. Goethe's mother died of an apoplectic 
attack. Cromwell, when at school, had a hallucination in his 
room ; suddenly the curtains opened and a woman of gigantic 
stature appeared to him, announcing his future greatness. In 
the days of his power he liked to recount this vision. Crom- 
well had violent attacks of melancholic humor; he spoke of 
his hypochondria. His entire moral life was moulded by a 
sickly and neuropathical constitution, which he had at birth. 
Rousseau was a type of the melancholic temperament, assuming 
sometimes the symptoms of a veritable pathetic insanity. He 
sought to realize his phantoms in the least susceptible circum- 
stances ; he saw everywhere enemies and conspirators (frequent 
in the first stage of insanity). Once coming to his sailing-ves- 
sel in England, he interpreted the unfavorable winds as a con- 
spiracy against him ; then mounted an elevation and began to 
harangue the people, although they did not understand a word 
he said. In addition to his fixed ideas and deliriant convictions, 
Rousseau suffered from attacks of acute delirium, a sort of 
maniacal excitation. He died from an apoplectic attack. 
Jeanne d'Arc was a genius by her intrepid will ; she had faith 
in her visions ; her faith rested upon the immovable foundation 
of numerous hallucinations having the force of moral and intel- 
lectual impulsion, making her superior to those around her. 
Science can pronounce as to her inspirations, but its judg- 
ment does not diminish in the least the merit of her heroism. 
Jeanne was of the peasant class and uneducated. According 
to her statement, she first heard supernatural voices when she 
was 13 years old. Mohammed was epileptic. He persistently 
claimed to be a messenger from God, receiving his first revela- 
tion at the age of 42. He lost his father in infancy and his 
mother in childhood ; was a travelling merchant, and married a 
wealthy widow fifteen years older than himself. His revela- 
tions began with visions in sleep. He used to live alone in a 
cave. He had interviews with the angel Gabriel. Henry 
Heine died of a chronic disease of the spinal column. Lotze 
was often melancholic. Moliere suffered from convulsions; 
delay or derangement could throw him into a convulsion. 

"Mozart's musical talent was revealed at three years of age: 
between four and six he composed pieces with expertness. 
Mozart died at 36 of cerebral hydropsy. He had a presentiment 
of his approaching end. He was subject to fainting fits before 
and during the composition of his famous v ' Requiem.' Mozart 
always thought that the unknown person which presented itself 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 311 

to him was not an ordinary being, but surely had relations with 
another world, and that he was sent to him to announce his 
end. Cuvier died of an affection of the nervous centres ; the 
autopsy showed a voluminous brain. He lost all his children 
by a fever called ' cerebral.' Condillac had frequent attacks of 
somnambulism ; he sometimes found his work finished in the 
morning. Bossuet suffered from a disease from which he once 
lost speech, knowledge, and even the faculty of understanding. 
Dumas says : ' Victor Hugo was dominated by the fixed idea to 
become a great poet and the greatest man of all countries and 
times. For a certain time the glory of Napoleon haunted him.' 
Chopin ordered by will that he be buried in a gala costume, 
white cravat, small shoes, and short trousers. He abandoned 
his wife, whom he loved, because she offered another person a 
seat before she offered it to him. Giordano Bruno considered 
himself enlightened by a superior light sent from God, who 
knows the essence of things. Comte considered himself the 
' Great Priest' of humanity. Madame de Stael died in a state 
of delirium, which had lasted several days ; according to some 
authors, several months. The autopsy showed a large quantity 
of cerebral matter, and very thin cranium. Moreau of Tours 
said she had a nervous habit of rolling continually between her 
ringers small strips of paper, an ample provision of which was 
kept on her mantelpiece. She used opium immoderately. She 
had a singular idea during her whole life ; she was afraid of 
being cold in the tomb ; she desired that she be enveloped in 
fur before burial. 

" English men of letters who have become insane, or have 
had hallucinations and peculiarities symptomatic of insanity, 
are Swift, Johnson, Cowper, Southey, Shelley, Byron, Gold- 
smith, Lamb, and Poe. Swift was also cruel in conduct, but he 
was hardly responsible, as his insanity was congenital. His 
paternal uncle lost speech and memory, and died insane. Swift 
was somewhat erratic and wild as a university student. He 
suffered at times from giddiness, impaired eyesight, deafness, 
muscular twitchings, and paralysis of the muscles on the right 
side of the mouth. He had a bad temper, was called ' mad 
person ; ' actually feared insanity, saying once, on seeing a tree 
that had been struck by lightning, ' I shall be like that tree : I 
shall die at the top.' Later in life he became a violent maniac. 
The post-mortem examination showed a cerebral serous effusion 
and softening of the cortex. There were a number of cranial 
anomalies. Shelley, when young, was strange and fond of 



312 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

musing alone, and was called ' Mad Shelley; ' he suffered from 
somnambulism and bad dreams, and was excitable and impet- 
uous; these symptoms increased with age; at twenty he 
constantly took laudanum for his nervous condition ; he had hal- 
lucinations ; he saw a child rise from the sea and clasp his 
hands, a vision which it was difficult to reason away. Much 
eccentricity existed in the immediate antecedents of Shelley. 
Charles Lamb was confined in an insane asylum. Johnson 
was hypochondriacal and apprehended insanity, fancying him- 
self seized with it ; he had convulsions, cramps, and a paralytic 
seizure depriving him of speech ; he had hallucinations of hear- 
ing. Carlyle considered Southey the most excitable man of 
his acquaintance. Southey's mind failed, and he became an 
imbecile and died ; a year before his death he was in a dreamy 
state, little conscious of his surroundings. Southey wrote 
verses before he was eight years of age. His maternal uncle 
was an idiot, and died of apoplexy. The mother of Southey 
had paralysis. Cowper was attacked with melancholia at 
twenty, which continued a year ; at another time it returned 
with greater force. He himself tells of his attempts at suicide ; 
he bought laudanum, keeping it in his pocket, when later a 
feeling pressed him to carry it into execution : but soon another 
idea came to him, to go to France and enter a monastery ; 
then the suicidal impulse came again, to throw himself into the 
river, — an inhibitory feeling from taking the laudanum, — but 
he would have succeeded in hanging himself had not the thong 
to which the rope was fastened broken. After suicidal ideas 
left him, he relapsed into religious melancholia, thinking he 
had committed the unpardonable sin. He was confined in an 
asylum eighteen months. Keats was an extremely emotional 
child, passing from laughter to tears : he was extremely passion- 
ate, using laudanum to calm himself ; sometimes he fell into 
despondency. He prophesied truly that he would never have 
any rest until he reached the grave. The attacks of critics 
agitated him almost to insanity. His nervousness was very 
susceptible, so that even ' the glitter of the sun ' or ' the sight of 
a flower ' made his nature tremble. Coleridge was a precocious 
child, self-absorbed, weakly, and morbid in imagination ; this 
morbidity was the cause of his running away from home when 
a child and from college when a student ; he enlisted as a sol- 
dier, and again went to Malta for no reason, permitting his 
family to depend upon charity. When thirty years of age, his 
physical suffering led him to use opium. Subsequently he had 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 



313 



a lateral curvature of the spine (De Ouincey). There were 
many morbid symptoms in the family. Burns says : ' My con- 
stitution and frame were ab origine blasted with a deep, incur- 
able taint of melancholia, which poisons my existence.' Dickens 
died from effusion of blood upon the brain ; he was a sickly 
child, suffering from violent spasms ; when a young man, he 
had a slight nervousness which increased with age, and finally 
was attacked with incipient paralysis. George Eliot suffered 
from melancholic moods, and from her thirtieth year had 
severe attacks of headache. As a child she was poor in health, 
and extremely sensitive to terror in the night. She remained a 
' quivering fear ' throughout her whole life. De Quincey, the 
opium-eater, took opium as a relief from neuralgia and general 
nervous irritation. He was in bad health for a long time, dying 
at the age of seventy-four. Alfred de Musset had attacks of 
syncope ; he died at forty-seven. George Sand described him 
in the Forest of Fontainebleau in his neurotic terror, in his joy 
and despair, as manifesting a nervous condition approaching 
delirium. He had a morbid cerebral sensibility, showing itself 
in hallucinations; he had a suicidal inclination. He was a 
dissipated gambler, passing from gayety to depression. His 
keen disappointment in love in Italy was accompanied by brain 
fever. For some time after this he could not speak of his 
chagrin without falling into syncope. He had an hallucination, 
and to distinguish it from real things he had to ask his brother. 
Wellington was subject to fainting fits ; he had epilepsy and 
died from an attack of the disease. Warren Hastings was 
sickly during his whole life ; in his latter years he suffered from 
paralysis, giddiness, and hallucinations of hearing. During the 
time of his paralysis he developed a taste for writing poetry. 
Carlyle, the dyspeptic martyr, showed extreme irritability. He 
says in his diary : ' Nerves all inflamed and torn up, body and 
mind in a hag-ridden condition.' He suffered from a paralysis 
in his right hand. Carlyle's antecedents were conspicuously of 
a nervous kind. Bach died from a stroke of apoplexy ; one of 
his numerous children was an idiot. His family suffered from 
nervous diseases. Handel was very irritable ; at the age of 
fifty he was stricken with paralysis, which so affected his mind 
that he lived in retirement for a year. 

" Nisbet says : ' Pathologically speaking, music is as fatal a 
gift to its possessor as the faculty for poetry or letters ; the 
biographies of all the greatest musicians being a miserable 
chronicle of the ravages of nerve disorder extending, like the 



314 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

Mosaic curse, to the third and fourth generation.' Newton in 
the last years of his life fell into a melancholia which deprived 
him of his power of thought. Newton himself, in a letter to 
Locke, says that he passed some months without having ' a con- 
sistency of mind.' He was also subject to vertigo. From the 
manner of manifestation and the results following from this dis- 
ease, Moreau goes so far as to say that it permits a certain 
degree of diagnosis and may be called acute dementia. 

" The insanity of Tasso is probable from the fact that, like 
Socrates, he believed he had a familiar genius which was 
pleased to talk with him, and from whom he learned things 
never before heard of. Swift died insane. Chateaubriand 
during his youth had ideas of suicide, and attempted to kill 
himself. His father died of apoplexy; his brother had an 
eccentricity bordering on insanity ; was given to all vices and 
died of paralysis. ' My chief fault,' says Chateaubriand, ' is 
weariness, disgust of everything, and perpetual doubt.' Tacitus 
had a son who was an idiot. Beethoven was naturally bizarre 
and exceedingly irritable. He became deaf, and fell into a pro- 
found melancholia, in which he died. Alexander the Great had 
a neurosis of the muscles of the neck, attacking him from birth, 
and causing his head to incline constantly upon his shoulders, 
He died at the age of thirty-two, having all the symptoms of 
acute delirium tremens. His brother Arrchide was an idiot. 
His mother was a dissolute woman ; his father was both disso- 
lute and violent. De Balzac (Honore) died of hypertrophy of 
the heart, a disease that can predispose one to cerebral conges- 
tion. The eccentricity of his ideas is well known. Lamartine 
says he had peculiar notions about everything; was in contra- 
diction with the common-sense of 'this low world.' His father 
was as peculiar. Lord Chatham was from a family of original 
mental disproportions, of peculiarities almost approaching 
alienation. Lord Chatham did not do things as others : he was 
mysterious and violent, indolent and active, imperious and 
charming. Pope was rickety. He had this hallucination : one 
day he seemed to see an arm come out from the wall, and he 
inquired of his physician what this arm could be. Lord Byron 
was scrofulous and rachitic and club-footed. Sometimes he 
imagined that he was visited by a ghost; this he attributed to 
the over-excitability of his brain. He was born in convulsions. 
Lord Dudley had the conviction that Byron was insane. The 
Duke of Wellington died of an apoplectic attack. Napoleon I. 
had a bent back; an involuntary movement of the right 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 315 

shoulder, and at the same time another movement of the mouth 
from left to right. When in anger, according to his own 
expression, he looked like a hurricane, and felt a vibration in 
the calf of his left leg. Having a very delicate head, he did 
not like new hats. He feared apoplexy. To a general in his 
room he said, ' See up there.' The general did not respond. 
'What' said Napoleon, ' do you not discover it? It is before 
you, brilliant, becoming animated by degrees ; it cried out 
that it would never abandon me ; I see it on all great occa- 
sions ; it says to me to advance, and it is for me a constant sign 
of fortune.' 

" Originality is very common, both to men of genius and the 
insane ; but in the latter case it is generally without purpose, 
Lombroso goes so far as to make unconsciousness and spon- 
taneity in genius resemble epileptic attacks. Hagen makes 
irresistible impulse one of the characteristics of genius, as 
Schiile does in insanity. Mozart avowed that his musical 
inventions came involuntary, like dreams, showing an uncon- 
sciousness and spontaneity which are also frequent in insanity. 
Socrates says that poets create, not by reflection, but by natural 
instinct. Voltaire said, in a letter to Diderot, that all manifes- 
tations of genius are effects of instinct, and that all the philoso- 
phers of the world together could not have given ' Les animaux 
malades de la peste,' which La Fontaine composed without 
knowing even what he did." 

The remark of Voltaire, above quoted, was itself an in- 
spiration; for it furnishes the key to the whole subject. 
"All manifestations of genius," says he, "are the effects of 
instinct," — that is to say, all manifestations of genius are 
the results of cultivation of the subjective faculties ; and all 
the abnormalities of genius are the results of the predomi- 
nance of the subjective faculties over the faculties of ob- 
jective reason and judgment. 

It is obvious that if there is any one form of psychic 
development that is useful to mankind, it is that of genius ; 
and it is equally obvious that if there is any one form of 
psychic development that could possibly be harmless to 
the physical organism, it must be in cases where the objec- 
tive and subjective faculties are developed in more or less 



316 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

perfect synchronism. As genius affords the best, nay, the 
only illustrations of the most useful and at the same time 
the least harmful of all manifestations of psychic activity, I 
have ventured to avail myself of the researches of one of 
the most eminent students of the abnormal in mankind for 
the purpose of showing that there is but one step between 
insanity and the least harmful of psychic manifestations. 

One of the great practical lessons, therefore, which 
psychic science teaches is that, normally, this is an objec- 
tive world, — the realm of physical life and activity. God 
has endowed us with faculties of mind exactly fitted for our 
physical environment ; and they are all-sufficient to enable 
us to master the forces of physical Nature so far as to ren- 
der our brief sojourn within its realm tolerable and even 
pleasant. Those are the faculties, therefore, which we 
should cultivate in this form of existence ; for their func- 
tions pertain exclusively to this life, and to no other. On 
the other hand, psychic science teaches us that we are the 
possessors of other faculties which perform no normal func- 
tions in this life ; and practical experience shows that the 
habitual exercise of those faculties in this life produces the 
most disastrous results to both body and mind. 

The conclusion is irresistible that we should carefully 
refrain from exercising and developing, in this life, those 
powers which belong exclusively to another form of exist- 
ence ; and the necessity for this inhibition becomes still 
more apparent when we remember that all immorality, all 
vice, all crime, and all insanity arise from one and the 
same cause, namely, the dominance of the subjective facul- 
ties ; and that all exercise of psychic powers for other than 
works of necessity, and all practices which develop and cul- 
tivate the subjective faculties, have a direct tendency to 
arouse to abnormal activity those emotions and propensi- 
ties which, uncontrolled by reason, lead to immorality, vice, 
crime, and insanity. 




CHAPTER XXII. 

LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSIONS. 

A Perspective View of the Arguments Presented. — The Final Syl- 
logism. — The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. — The 
Christian's Heaven. — The Revelations of Modern Science Iden- 
tical with those of Jesus. 



I 



HAVE now briefly outlined a few of the principal argu- 
ments for a future life which are based upon the ob- 
servable and demonstrable facts of experimental psychology, 
so far as those facts have been definitely ascertained 
through modern scientific investigations. The treatment 
has necessarily been brief; for, although the science of the 
soul is yet in its infancy, the basic facts have accumulated 
at an astonishing rate since the world has learned where to 
look for them. From the great mass of data thus far avail- 
able I have selected what seemed to be the most important, 
and, to borrow a phrase from art, I have delineated them 
thus far in sectional detail. A perspective view will now 
be attempted in the form of a brief resume of the salient 
features of the argument. This will be done at the risk of 
what might be considered unnecessary repetition ; but the 
intelligent reader will agree with me that fundamental facts 
and principles cannot be too thoroughly impressed upon 
the mind of the earnest and conscientious searcher after 
truth. 

The fundamental axiom upon which our argument is 
based, and which the reader is again requested constantly 



1/ 
(I 



3l8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

to bear in mind, is this : There is no faculty, emotion, or 
organism of the human mind that has not its use, function, 
or object. 

The first great fundamental fact presented to view is that 
man is endowed with a dual mind. This has been abun- 
dantly demonstrated by the facts of experimental hypno- 
tism, cerebral anatomy, and experimental surgery. It has 
also been shown to be a primordial fact of psychic evolution. 

The fact of duality alone, considered in connection with 
our fundamental axiom, is sufficient to put the intelligent 
observer upon an earnest inquiry into the possible use, 
function, and object of a dual mental organism ; and his 
first inquiry is, " What possible use is there for two minds if 
both are to perish with the body?" A future life, there- 
fore, is at once suggested by this one isolated fact ; and the 
suggestion is further strengthened by the fact that, whilst 
one of the two minds grows feeble as the body loses its 
vitality and is extinguished when the brain ceases to per- 
form its functions, the other mind grows strong as the body 
grows weak, stronger still when the brain ceases to act, and 
reaches its maximum of power to produce observable phe- 
nomena at the very hour of physical dissolution. It is 
simply impossible, from these two facts alone, to resist the 
conclusion that the mind which reaches its maximum of 
observable power at the moment of dissolution is not ex- 
tinguished by the act of dissolution. These facts, therefore, 
constitute presumptive evidence of a future life. They are 
not claimed to be conclusive ; yet it can truly be said that 
men of sound judgment habitually stake their dearest inter- 
ests upon evidence less demonstrative of vital propositions. 
It would, indeed, be difficult to find any other rational 
hypothesis that would explain all the phenomena pertaining 
to these two facts. 

The next great fact, or congeries of facts, which presents 
itself to view is that — 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 319 

1. Each of the two minds possesses powers and functions 
which are not shared by the other. 

2. Each of the two minds is hedged about by limitations 
not shared by the other. 

3. These powers and limitations are divided into three 
distinct classes ; namely, — 

(a) Those which belong exclusively to the objective 
mind ; 

(b) Those which belong exclusively to the subjective 
mind; 

(c) Those which are common to both minds. 

4. Those which belong to class (#) pertain exclusively 
to physical life and environment. 

5. Those which belong to class (b) perform no function 
whatever in physical life, and are observable only under 
abnormal physical conditions. 

6. Those which belong to class (c) are more or less imper- 
fect — finite — in their manifestations in the objective mind, 
whereas each faculty is perfect in the subjective mind. 

Thus we find man, as he is presented to us in the light 
of demonstrable facts, possessed of a dual mental organism, 
comprising two classes of faculties, each complete in itself. 

We find one class of faculties to be finite, perishable, 
imperfect, and yet well adapted to a physical existence and 
a material environment, and capable of development, by 
the processes of evolution, to a high degree of excellence, 
morally, physically, and mentally, within the limits of its 
finite nature. We also find that the noblest faculties be- 
longing to physical man — those faculties which alone 
render his existence in this life tolerable or even possible, 
those faculties which give him dominion over the forces of 
physical nature — are faculties which pertain exclusively to 
this life. 

On the other hand, we find another set of faculties, each 
perfect in itself, and complete in the aggregate, — that is to 



320 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

say, every faculty, attribute, and power necessary to con- 
stitute a complete personality being present in perfection ; 
and we find that the most important of those faculties 
perform no normal function in physical life. 

Here, then, we have a personality, connascent with the 
physical organism, but possessing independent powers \ a 
distinct entity, with the intellect of a god \ a human soul, 
filled with human emotions, affections, hopes, aspirations, 
and desires ; longing for immortal life with a passionate 
yearning that passeth understanding \ possessing, in a word, 
all the intellectual and moral attributes of a perfect man- 
hood, together with a kinetic force often transcending, in 
its visible manifestations, the power of the physical frame ; 
in a word, "a perfect being, nobly planned," — a being of 
godlike powers and of infinite possibilities. 

In his apostrophe to man, Shakespeare must have em- 
bodied a description of an inspired vision, not of a mere 
human entity as it is visible in the flesh, but of a disem- 
bodied soul, clothed with the investiture of Heaven, and in 
full possession of its heritage of immortal attributes. It was 
a dream of such a being that he put into the mouth of 
Hamlet in these memorable words : — 

" What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how 
infinite in faculty ! in form and moving how express and admi- 
rable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like 
a god!" 

The reader will not fail to remember the last exclama- 
tion in connection with what has been said of man's powers 
of intuitional perception of divine truth, — a power which 
belongs alone to the soul; a power which in itself is 
demonstrative of kinship to God, because it is the essential 
attribute of Omniscience. 

Is it conceivable that there has been created such a man- 
hood without a mission, such faculties without a function, 
such powers without a purpose? 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 32 1 

Impossible ! If Nature is constant, no faculty of the 
human mind exists without a normal function to perform. 
If no faculty exists without a normal function to perform, 
those faculties which do exist must perform their functions 
either in this life or a future life. If man possesses faculties 
which perform no normal function in this life, it follows 
that the functions of such faculties must be performed in a 
future life. 

Or, to put the argument in a still more concise and purely 
syllogistic form, the propositions stand thus : — 

Every faculty of the human mind has a normal function 
to perform either in this life or in a future life. 

Some faculties of the human mind perform no normal 
functions in this life. 

Therefore, Some faculties of the human mind are destined 
to perform their f mictions in a future life. 

No scientist will for a moment question the soundness 
of the major premise of the above syllogism. It is self- 
evident, — axiomatic. 

No one who is at all familiar with the results of modern 
scientific research in the field of psychic phenomena will 
for a moment gainsay the minor premise. The one faculty 
of telepathy alone is demonstrative of the soundness of that 
proposition, to say nothing of the faculty of intuitive percep- 
tion, etc. 

The major and minor premises being each demonstrably 
true, the soundness of the conclusion that man is destined 
to inherit a future life is self-evident. 

It will be observed that, in constructing this final syllogism, 
I have done so without reference to the theory of the dual 
mind. Not that I have the slightest doubt of the scientific 
accuracy of that hypothesis ; for I can have none in view of 
the array of facts which have been presented. But, as I have 
already pointed out, the theory of a dual mind and the theory 
of a unitary mind with dual faculties are concurrent hy- 

21 



322 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

potheses, and lead to identical conclusions. Hypothesis is 
not a final dogma : it is merely an instrument of logic. It is 
the divining-rod of truth. Facts are primordial, antecedent, 
and ultimate, and exist independently of any hypothesis that 
may be employed to account for them. The fact that the 
human mind is endowed with two distinct classes of faculties 
is demonstrable in itself, and exists independently of either 
the dual or the unitary hypothesis. That being the essential 
fact, I have framed my syllogism in terms broad enough to 
arrest the attention and extort the assent of the scientist who 
is not yet ready fully to indorse the dual hypothesis. 

I have now finished my argument for a future life. If the 
facts which have been adduced do not demonstrate my thesis, 
crudely and imperfectly as they have been presented, then 
Nature herself has performed a miracle, and demonstrated 
her inconstancy. 

Before closing, however, I desire to draw attention to one 
general conclusion, derivable from the facts herein presented, 
which must be a source of pride and gratulation to every 
inhabitant of Christian lands, whatever may be his individual 
belief or bias on the subject of Christianity. That conclusion 
is that the facts of psychic science fully and completely sus- 
tain the religious philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, demon- 
strate his perfect mastery of the science of the soul, and 
confirm every essential doctrine of the Christian religion. 
It is almost superfluous to remark that this can be said of 
no other religion on earth. It is true that the religious 
philosophy of the Hindu is founded upon an observation of 
the same psychic phenomena. But, as I have remarked in 
previous chapters, their point of observation did not take in 
the whole field, — that is, they did not take into considera- 
tion all of the powers and attributes of the soul ; nor did 
their partial observation bear the stamp of scientific accuracy, 
owing to their ignorance of the fundamental law of psychic 
science. Whereas the Christian religion is based upon an 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 323 

accurate survey of the entire field of psychic science by the 
most colossal religious genius the world has ever seen. Not 
only was the whole field surveyed by him, but it was with a 
full and accurate intuitive knowledge of every principle in- 
volved, as well as of every attribute of the human soul. That 
this is true, is scientifically demonstrated by the fact that 
modern scientific induction reveals, in every detail, the same 
truths which Jesus proclaimed eighteen hundred years ago. 

The most specific utterance of Jesus concerning the 
future life and its conditions is contained in the parable of 
the rich man and Lazarus, which reads as follows : — 

" There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple 
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day : 

" And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was 
laid at his gate, full of sores, 

" And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the 
rich man's table : moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 

" And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried 
by the angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, 
and was buried ; 

" And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and 
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 

" And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on 
me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in 
water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. 

" But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime 
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : 
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 

" And beside all this, between us and you there is a great 
gulf fixed : so that they which would pass from hence to you can- 
not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

" Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou 
wouldest send him to my father's house: 

" For I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, 
lest they also come into this place of torment. 

" Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the proph- 
ets ; let them hear them. 

"And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto 
them from the dead, they will repent. 



324 ^ SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION 

u And he said unto him. If they hear not Moses and the 
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from 
the dead." x 

This parable, couched as it is in general terms, conveys, 
nevertheless, specific information of the greatest impor- 
tance. The words "And in hell he lifted up his eyes" 
and saw " Abraham afar off " convey the information that 
the souls of men will recognize each other in the future life. 

The expression " And he cried and said, Father Abra- 
ham," etc., shows that spirits communicate with each other 
in the other world. 

The words " But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou 
in thy lifetime," etc., tell us that we remember the partic- 
ulars of our earthly life ; whilst the remaining part of the 
same clause teaches us, generally, that it is through our 
memory that we are punished for the deeds done in the 
body ; and, specifically, that if the spirit of charity and 
brotherly love is not regnant in our breasts in this life, the 
memory of our neglect to relieve human suffering will be a 
source of torment to us in the world to come. It is no- 
where stated that the rich man was not a good citizen in 
the ordinary affairs of life. The only charge against him 
was that out of his abundance of this world's goods he 
failed to relieve the distress of the bessrar at his door. 

The words " Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, 
that thou wouldest send him to my father's house : for I have 
five brethren," etc., conveys, in unmistakable language, the 
information that, good or bad as we may be in this life, we 
retain, in the future life, our affection for those we love in 
this form of existence : and that it is partly through our 
affectional emotions that we are made happy or wretched 
in the life to come. 

The unmistakable import of the closing clauses of the 
parable is that it is neither expedient nor possible, for any 

1 Luke xvi. 19--31. 



OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 325 

purpose whatever, for spirits of the dead to communicate 
with the living. 

This parable was obviously intended to convey to the 
world the sum total of all the knowledge of the conditions 
of the future life which Jesus could successfully impart to 
the finite comprehension of his followers. If communica- 
tion of spirits of the dead with the living is a possibility, he 
would have taken that occasion to impart the information. 

Taking it for granted that Jesus knew the laws of the 
soul, and was aware of its powers, functions, and limitations, 
it is impossible, without impugning his character for sin- 
cerity, to suppose that he could have uttered the words of 
the closing sentences of that parable if spirit communica- 
tion with the living is either expedient or possible. The 
points of information, however, which he did from time to 
time impart, are of the utmost value and importance, and, 
moreover, they coincide exactly with the inductions of 
modern science. 

Thus, modern psychic science reveals the same omnipo- 
tent, omnipresent, omniscient, immanent God, — the same 
loving, tender, benevolent, merciful Father whom Jesus was 
the first to proclaim. 

It reveals the same frail man, possessing all the pow- 
ers, attributes, and limitations which Jesus declared or 
exemplified. 

It reveals the same immortal destiny for man which Jesus 
"brought to light," and prescribes the same conditions 
precedent to its enjoyment. 

It reveals the soul of man as the possessor of all the 
faculties, affections, and emotions which are requisite and 
necessary for the enjoyment of perfect felicity in the future 
life. 

And it also reveals, in those same faculties and affectional 
emotions, — in the perfect memory of every detail of the 
acts and deeds of earthly life, together with the awakened 



326 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 

conscience resulting from the intuitive perception of the 
eternal principles of right and wrong, — a most perfect 
means for conferring the rewards promised by the Christian 
religion for a well-spent life, as well as for meting out the 
punishments for vice and crime, in exact and necessary 
accordance "with the deeds done in the body." 

Moreover, science ceases its revelations at the very point 
where Jesus paused ; namely, at the portals of the tomb. 
He gave us an assurance of a future life ; and science con- 
firms his words. He assured us of abundant rewards in the V 
future life for righteousness in this ; and science reveals in 
us the capacity for the enjoyment of the promised rewards. 
Beyond that his lips were sealed. Beyond that science 
cannot penetrate. 



THE END. 



By Mrs. Elizabeth W. Latimer. 

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For sale by booksellers generally, or will be sent, post- 
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A. C. McCLURG Sr CO., CHICAGO. 



By Mr. George P. Upton. 

The Standard Operas: Their Plots, their Music, and their 
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For sale by booksellers generally, or will be sent, post- 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

A. C. McCLURG &> CO., CHICAGO. 



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